It was the end of term, the sun shining brightly regardless of how late it was. The locket around my neck glinting in the sun. It was the last thing left of my mother after the tragic accident that took place on the 28th of march 2012, when I was only 2 years of age. I don’t really remember anything specific about it but, I treasure the locket like it were a person. My father has not been normal ever since, he still cries over her photos even after 13 years and does not get off the couch that has been sitting in the living room for as long as I can remember. It was devastating for the both of us but it broke my dad more than it ever broke me. Since I was really little, I barely remember anything about the way she looks. Its was getting dark and the trees were swaying rhythmically as if they were dancing, the wind picked up occasionally, making my hair cover my face. I got home after a long 35 minutes of walking and got inside my house safely, nothing had changed, there was my father sitting on that couch wailing all over my late mothers’ old photos. I decided not to annoy my dad, I never do , and climbed up the stairs to my room. The smell of my new books and NBA jerseys filled my room. I was reaching up to my shoulders to take my bag off to get an early start on the homework that had been given today and felt that something was missing, it was my locket, it had fallen of my neck somewhere and I didn’t know where it was. I started tearing up in panic as this felt like losing my mother all over again. I showed my bag on the floor throwing all my things around, trying to find my moms locket but had no luck doing so. It was clear that it was not in my room, so perhaps it had fallen on the way home. I put on my jacket and left into the cold night desperate to find my locket.
I am Dakota, and I lost my mom because of a car crash at the age of 2. My father and mother did not really have the best relationship, hence fought all the time. I was in the car with my mother that night and we were on the way to the supermarket as my dad had forgotten to buy the groceries he was supposed to get after work. My mom was fuming and accidently made a wrong turn costing her life, I escaped with a scratch on my face that remains a memory due the scar engraved on my face, below my left eye, reminding me of how close I was to death. I still get vivid dreams of my mother’s screams and a light that feel so blinding, I could go blind. Even though I felt that I had lost her forever, my mom had somehow managed to put her locket around my neck before her tragic accident. And now I had lost the only thing that belonged to my mother that connected me with her, and this made me feel gutted. I ran down the street with the flashlight on my phone showing me the way. Tears ran down my cheeks as I ran down the wet roads, panicking, my hands shaking in fear. After what felt like an eternity of running, I found it. The metal glinted in the moonlight, showing the wear and tear of the 13-year-old piece of jewellery. I signed in relief, picking up the locket with my left hand and turning to walk back home. Something surged through me like electricity, the wind picked up again making my hair go ballistic. The night was as cold and as quiet at it possibly could’ve been, there were no cars around. And then I heard a familiar voice that made my skin crawl, “Dakota”.
I turned back to look at where the voice was coming from as it reminded me of my mother’s voice, and there she was standing where the locket was once fallen on the ground. Her navy-blue dress flowed in the wind, this was what she had worn before her accident, so this was most definitely her. She glowed in a luminous blue colour that lightened up the once dark streets. I approached her not thinking at all, and she disappeared into thin air.
