The Trekker – July 30, 2014

It seemed like just any other day to Gordon Westerman, in fact it was the day that he learnt an important aspect of his future.

It was the summer of 2025. Gordon Westerman had been out trekking near some mounds in a little known Appalachian area, which were reputed to be haunted by native Americans, when he saw something glistening in the grass not far from the path he’d been walking along. Curious, he went towards the glitter and saw that in fact it was a golden locket. He picked it up and found that it was rather heavy. Placing it in his pocket, he went on his way, feeling he’d been rather lucky to have come across such a precious object and thought nothing more about it.

That evening, in his room at the local guesthouse, after taking a warm shower, he remembered the locket, pulled it out of the pocket of his soiled trousers and began to study it. It was one of those lover’s lockets, with an intricate design, which could be opened. Inside he found two photographs, one of which was of himself, or so it seemed.

The odd thing about the photograph was that he seemed to be in fact older. The face was heavier and there was a lot of grey in the his hair. He was wondering if someone had set him up and if he was the object of some farce. Then he decided that it was probably just a coincidence that the photo resembled him.

He looked carefully at the second photograph. It was the photograph of a youngish looking woman. She’d have been in her late sixties, though why he thought so he couldn’t say. She was a rather handsome woman, if she’d been closer to his own age, he probably would have found her attractive. The next day, he decided to return to the spot where he’d found the locket.

As he arrived near the spot he began to feel uneasy and a little light-headed. There was a peculiar boulder near where the object had been found which he’d remembered from the day before, not far from an ancient mound.  He got off the trail again and started looking around the site, not knowing what he was actually looking for.

After a bit of moving leaves and debris, he found a mouldering heap of bones and two skulls. The skulls were badly damaged, in fact, caved in by some heavy object. He wondered why he hadn’t seen them the day before, they weren’t far from where the locket had been found. He backed off and began to feel rather sick to his stomach and again there was the strange feeling of light-headedness. He quickly got back onto the trail and returned, almost running the whole way, to the guest house.

He told the director what he’d found, who proceeded to call the police once he realized that the tourist was serious. Twenty minutes later a squad car pulled up. Three agents got out of the car, one was a woman who looked to be around twenty or a little more. He liked her walk. As she came closer, his mouth fell open. It was the woman in the photograph he’d found in the locket, only a much younger version. His head began to spin and he felt faint. He decided not to show them the locket.

 

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Written for Three Word Wednesday