A boy about 12 years old was riding home on his bike. Along the way, he stopped at a Stop sign. He looked down to find a golden locket. He picked it up and put it in his pocket. He thought it had to be worth something. He drove home put his bike where it should go.
He walked into the house. His mom was cooking his favorite meal, deep-fried chicken. On the table, he noticed a ‘lost and found’ flyer.
“Mom, what is this.” He said in a nervous voice.
“The girl next door, she lost her locket today. It was her grandma’s. It really means a lot to her. I said I’ll make copies so I can place them around the neighborhood”
Adam felt the side of his pants. He remembered what he found earlier. In his heart, he knew what he must do, but his head was telling him to keep it, Losers weepers, finders’ keepers.
“So, is there a reward?” He seemed excited.
“Just the thanks from a pretty girl.” She suggested.
The boy took the flyer off the table and went into his room. His mom noticed what he did. Perhaps she sensed that maybe he might have found it. Or maybe, she was just being a mom.
Adam took the locket out of his pants. It was a golden heart-shaped locket with a golden chain. To him, this was a fortune. Why would he give it back to some unknown girl? He did find it ‘fair and square’, a saying that never made sense to him, but sounded good when it could be used for his gain.
He opened the locket. It had a picture of her on the left, and of her parents on the right. They seemed happy and peaceful. For a moment he thought of how he would felt if he lost this locket. How he would want someone to give it back to him.
There were two voices that were raging in him. One voice from his heart told him to do the right thing and give back the locket. The other voice in his head told him to keep it.
He did something surprising. Something he doesn’t normally do. He asked God. He bowed his head and closed his eyes.
“Dear God,
What should I do? I did find the locket. Should I give it back?
In Jesus’ Name, Amen”
Then he waited and waited. But no answer came. Or at least none that he heard. He went outside to play. Across the street, he saw that girl. Something inside of him urged him to go over there and say hi.
“Hi, my name is Adam. I live across the street. I heard you just moved in.” He said boldly
“Yes, A week ago.” She said in a depressing way.
“What’s wrong?” He said in a convincing voice, trying to hide his guilt.
“I lost my locket. My grandma gave it to me before she went to Heaven.” She tried to sound cheerful, but tears were starting to run down her cheeks.
Adam felt overwhelming compassion for her. He reached deep in his pocket and pulled out the locket. A smile appeared on the girls face and she jumped up and down in victory.
“Thank you. Thank you so much.” She said with all the excitement a young girl could have.
She didn’t even realize she was hugging this boy she just met. It took a few seconds before she figured out what she was doing. The boy was stung not knowing what to think; a girl that he was not related to just hugged him. He must have died and gone to Heaven. The girl had to shake him back down to earth.
“Adam, are you alright.” She seemed concerned.
She didn’t realize how boys reacted to being hugged by a girl. The boy recovered as if nothing happened.
“Hi, my name is Adam. I live across the street.” He repeated himself.
The girl figuring out her hug dazed the boy. She is just learning that boys can be weird around girls. Tough she should have already known that. She didn’t know if she liked being able to do that to boys or if it freaked her out.
“Hi, I’m Savannah,” She said with such grace her a smile light up her face. It was as it doves fly behind her.
“I’m glad I was able to find your locket.” He seemed less confident as before.
“Me too, it means so much to me. So, I’m new here. And I’m going to need someone to show me the ropes.” She hinted.
Adam felt like he won the lottery. Most of the guys in 7th grade would be jealous of him. He showed his new friend around town. They quickly became best friends. Sometimes he thought about what could have happened if he kept the locket. He never would have thought finding a locket will lead him to his best friend, even though she is a girl. And he would have missed out on our their bother/sister advantages.
Feature image contains the following Creative Commons images.
- “vintage-locket-1930s-antique-1251140” by evalynn, under CC0 1.0
- “pavers-the-stones-stone-walkway-3549293” by pasja1000, under CC0 1.0
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