Chapter 26 - The Silver Locket
The peace we felt on the porch was absolute, but the universe has a strange way of testing a newly built foundation. After breakfast, Lily ran down the wooden steps to play in the tall grass near the edge of the oak trees. My father and I stayed behind, sipping our coffee in comfortable silence.
"Mommy, look what I found!"
Lily’s voice carried over the gentle morning breeze. She came running back up the stairs, her small hands clutching something shiny and metallic.
"What is it, sweetie?"
I knelt to her eye level, expecting a smooth river stone or a discarded piece of foil. Instead, she opened her palm to reveal a heavy, tarnished silver locket. It was intricately engraved with a crescent moon—a symbol I hadn't seen in over three years.
"Where did you find this, Lily?"
My father stood up, his coffee mug clinking sharply against the wooden railing. He recognized it, too.
"It was sitting on the big rock by the oak tree," Lily said, her innocent eyes wide with wonder. "Did the fairies leave it for my birthday?"
"Yes, baby," I said, forcing a calm smile while my heart hammered against my ribs. "Why don't you go inside and show Grandpa's dog?"
As the screen door slammed shut behind her, my father looked at me, the warmth entirely drained from his face.
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"He’s supposed to be dead, Emmy."
"I know, Dad," I whispered, closing my hand tightly around the cold silver. "But ghosts don't leave physical gifts."
