Chapter 3: The Secret in the Gold
With trembling fingers, Clara slowly reached out. Lily gently placed the heavy, antique gold locket into Clara's palm. The metal felt impossibly warm against her cold skin, as if it had been sitting under the summer sun rather than inside a dark velvet box.
"This is ridiculous, we are going to be late for the procession!" Beatrice complained, entirely oblivious to the shattering of reality happening right in front of her.
Clara ignored her aunt entirely. Her vision blurred with tears as she pressed the hidden, intricate latch on the side of the gold casing. She expected to see the same old, faded black-and-white portrait of her grandparents that had resided inside the locket for the last thirty years.
The angry bride didn't expect the locket to contain a brand-new photograph.
Instead of punishing a thief, Clara’s entire reality shattered instantly when the locket clicked open.
Sitting on top of the old portrait was a small, perfectly cut, glossy color photograph that had absolutely not been there when Clara checked the heirloom the previous night. It was a picture of Clara herself, taken just two hours ago inside the bridal suite while she was having her hair done.
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But it was the background of the photo that caused Clara to gasp, her knees turning entirely to water.
Reflected in the glass of the mirror behind Clara was a soft, glowing silhouette of Eleanor. She was smiling radiantly, her hand gently resting on Clara’s shoulder, wearing the exact blue dress and the silver star bracelet Lily had described. Beneath the photograph, written in her mother's unmistakable, elegant cursive handwriting, were the words: I am always standing right behind you, my beautiful girl. Walk down the aisle with joy.
