Page 73 of Falling For Us Again

I step back and see the distortion in our reflection in the mirror. I knock on the wall, and it sounds hollow.

“Let’s lift the mirror.” Carefully, we remove the mirror, and behind it, there’s a door.

Lola’s eyes widen. “What the?”

Slowly I open the door to reveal a small closet. It’s filled with my mother’s clothes, and what must be some of her priceless possessions.

There, sitting at the bottom is a wooden trunk.

My heart races with anticipation of discovering hidden secrets.

“Oh my God Jenna, this is insane. She was clearly trying to hide something from someone.”

“I’d bet anything it was to keep it away from my father. I imagine this is the last place he would think of looking.

I feel a rush of pride for my mother for coming up with this secret place. My father had either burned or thrown out every sentimental possession of hers, and if he’d known this existed, it would have been too.

This clearly contained something that she did not want him to see.

My heart races as we move the dusty, old trunk from its hiding place. The trunk is surprisingly heavy.

I move over to inspect it, brushing away a layer of grime. Its surface is scuffed, and the metal clasps are tarnished but otherwise in good shape, and has clearly kept its secrets.

Lola and I exchange a glance.

“Have you seen this before?” she says.

I shake my head. “No. My father must not have seen it either, because if he had, he would have destroyed it.”

“How are we going to open it?”

“There’s got to be a key in here somewhere.”

We turn the room upside down, but there’s no key in sight. I frown, feeling waves of frustration.

“Of course, the key is missing,” I say, disappointment seeping into my voice. “Figures.”

Lola sighs, her expression sympathetic. “I think we’ve done everything we can today. Let’s leave it for now. We can figure it out later.”

With a final, resigned glance at the trunk, we start putting the room back together. The hours pass, and the room starts to take on a semblance of order.

Lola receives a call from a client.

“Alright, I have to head out,” she says, standing up and stretching. “You sure you're fine by yourself?”

I manage a weak smile, nodding. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for all your help, Lola.”

“Anytime,” she says, giving me a quick hug before heading for the door. “Call me if you need anything, alright? I’ll stop by tomorrow.”

“Will do,” I reply, watching her leave.

Once she’s gone, I turn back to the trunk, my curiosity gnawing at me. I kneel beside it, running my fingers over the tarnished metal. There’s something almost sacred about it now,as if it holds the secrets of my mother’s life that I’ve yet to uncover.

My fingers stroke the locket around my neck, absentmindedly tracing the shape of the key.

Wait... the locket.

In my excitement, I almost break the clasp trying to remove it from around my neck.

---