The Locket

Darkness came in and enveloped the town. The stars gazed at the earth, unblinking. The air turned cool. John walked into his son’s bedroom to tell him a bedtime story. “What kind of story are you going to tell me today?” asked his son. “I am going to tell you a story about friendship.” said John. Saying this, John began to tell his son a story.

The radiant sun rose into the azure blue sky, painting the great canvas in warm hues of yellow. John sat near the window of his house waiting for Tom to arrive. John was becoming very anxious as a quiz was going to be held in his school that day and Tom was his partner in the quiz. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to John, Tom arrived. The two friends cycled to school and reached the venue of the quiz in the nick of time. The quiz was quite difficult but they passed with flying colors. They won in each level of the quiz until the international level. To compete in the quiz at the international level they would have to travel to another country. John and Tom were going to get a chance to travel in a ship. They waited eagerly for their departure.

Soon the day of their departure arrived and they bid farewell to their families. They boarded the ship and enjoyed themselves. The two friends loved the food served on the ship. They waited impatiently to reach their destination. Soon the beautiful country, to which they were heading, came into sight. It looked marvelous. Misty fog cloaked the air as the heat of the day gave way to the chill of nightfall. They were going to reach their destination within five hours.

Suddenly, the ship crashed into a rock which had been submerged by the high tide. The rock damaged the ship and it began to sink. All the passengers on the board the ship began to panic. The ones who knew how to swim jumped into the sea while the others awaited their fate. Neither Tom nor John knew how to swim however they managed to grab a wooden plank when the ship sank.

They soon discovered that the plank was not strong enough to carry both of them to the shore. One of them would just have to let go. Both of them began to argue among themselves about who would get to live as both of them wanted to sacrifice themselves to save their friend. Suddenly, without a warning Tom took of his locket and gave it to John. He said, “Go and live your life to the fullest. Don’t let my sacrifice go in vain and tell my parents that I’m sorry.” He let go of the plank and disappeared into the sea. John began to weep however he continued to swim towards the shore with the help of the plank. He struggled in the sea for two days but he managed to reach the shore despite difficulties as he did not want Tom’s sacrifice to go in vain. The competition was cancelled as many contestants had died in the accident. John went back to his own country and lived his life to the fullest but never forgot about his friend. Saying this John ended his tale.

“Are you the John in the story, dad?’’ asked his son. John hesitated and replied, “I am not as brave as the John in the story.” He tucked his son into bed and walked into his own bedroom. He opened his cupboard and looked at the locket inside it. He had kept his promise. He had lived his life to the fullest.