It hung around his neck, unnoticeable to all the passers by. He had often tried to open it before, hoping it contained a facet of knowledge of where he had come from. His past was a blur, and anytime he tried to remember anything, he was met with empty memories and a headache. He twirled it around in his fingers as he walked, trying to imagine what was so special about it. His father had given it to him a few years ago and told him it was a family memento. He had no idea whose it was originally, but it looked very old. It seemed much older than his father, to whom it had belonged. He barely even had known his father, and had only met the man once, and that was only to give him the locket and then disappear from his life entirely. For some reason though, he didn't resent the man for walking out on him. In fact, he was grateful to have met the man, if only for a brief moment so he could drop off the family locket. He could only assume his grandfather had given it to his father a long time ago.
The locket had a dull shine to it, as if it were both old and new. As always, however, it remained shut when he tried to open it. So he put it back on and continued to walk. He suddenly realized he had no idea where he was going. Where was he going, and when did he start walking? When did he leave the house? Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he continued onward, past the rubble on the street and into an alleyway. Perhaps this would be a shortcut. The alley seemed to stretch out for miles, but when he stepped out, he eventually opened up to a new world. Where the hell was he? It didn't seem like a particularly livable world. His eyes widened in both amazement and terror as he looked out past the alley. There was no one in the street, just piles and piles of rubble. Buildings had crumbled, and the smell of ash filled the air. Cars that once bustled about were now abandoned and rusted. Street lights were bent at an odd angle and there were birds everywhere. He began to panic, and he felt his breathing quicken. The smell of ash and death filled the air, a repugnant odor, one he couldn't quite place, made him shudder. It was strangely quiet, and the only thing he could hear was the caw of the crows. Where was everyone? What had happened? Surely there was someone else besides him. Anyone. As he walked among the rubble he called for help. Pleading with the universe for any of this to make sense.
The panic began to overtake him, and he turned around to run back the way he had come. He could see the alley where he had emerged, and he ran back into it. He couldn't smell the ash anymore, and he could begin to hear voices again. As he looked around again on the other side, he saw all was the same as a few moments ago. The buildings were fine and people bustled around normally. He sighed and grabbed the locket around his neck twirling it around in his fingers the way he always did. Oddly enough, it felt different to the touch. A cooler sleekness that he couldn't quite put into words. Wordlessly he removed the locket from around his neck and tried to open it. To his surprise, however, it opened. What in the world was going on? Inside the locket was a note and a red looking gem. For now, he would ignore the stone. He unruffled the small note and read. "As I am sure you're aware by now, this world is broken. There is no way to save it, so revel in the fact you will not live to see it. I am giving this locket to you to allow you passage when the time comes. Once you see the truth and come to understand it, you will know what to do. Good luck." It was an odd note, and he had no idea what it was talking about. He returned the locket to its original position around his neck and began to walk away from that alley. He wanted to be as far from there as possible. He hadn't been walking for very long when he noticed something odd. He hadn't realized before, but something about this reality was different from the one he had left. His eye caught a newspaper stand which had the date on it and he understood. People had always told him he looked just like his father. It make more sense now. He just needed to find himself. He had a pretty good idea where he needed to go, and so onward he walked with the locket as it hung around his neck, unnoticeable to all the passers by.