An odd chain of events and a gold necklace links a teenage boy and a young girl. Will either of them have the courage to follow the advice of an old man by breaking the chain, and what kind of trap is the man warning about?

The Broken Chain

Copyright 2007 by Heather Rose Brown

I wrapped the light nylon jacket more tightly around my chest, but the chill of the night was still seeping into my bones. My shivering was as much from cold as hunger. It had been almost two days since they gave me food at the shelter ... two days since they laughed at me when I said I'd been thrown out of my home because I'd told my parents I wanted to be a girl.

My legs were starting to cramp from crouching in the shadows of an alley when I finally heard two sets of footsteps coming closer. One of them was slow and shuffling, the other sounded more like the slap slap of bare feet against concrete. I shoved a hand in the left pocket of my jacket and grabbed the neck of an empty beer bottle. My fingers ached from the sudden chill of the icy glass. I found myself wondering if anyone would really believe I was holding a weapon or if the stink of the stale beer that had dribbled into my pocket would make them think I was drunk.

I had been planning to leap from the shadows onto the deserted street when the next person came along, but fear had sapped all the strength from my legs. I was barely able to stand. My knees shook and felt like they would buckle under me any second. I hunched my shoulders, hoping it made me look more menacing and tried to put a growl into my voice as I stepped out of the alley and faced two strangers. "Gimme all your money, or else!"

The old black man let go of the little white girl's hand before looking at me with a sad smile. "Or else what, Jessie?"

My knees nearly gave out on me. "How'd you know my name?"

"You're at a crossroads. I've gotten to know you both coming and going. There's not a lot of time to explain things, so I'll keep it simple. You have two choices to make. Your first is to go back home and live out your life as well as you're able."

"Are you crazy? I can't go back. Now just gimme all your money." I pointed the bottle at the old man. "Now!"

The old man's smile faded as he pulled a thin leather wallet from his back pocket. "You've made your choice. I honestly hope it works well for you." As he handed the wallet to me, he touched the girls shoulder and said, "This is it. You have to break the chain and give it to him."

I was too busy searching through the wallet to pay attention to her answer. All I got for my trouble was two ones and a handful of change. "Dammit! Is this all you've got?"

The old man didn't answer. He was too busy talking to the little girl. "There's not much time left. You have to break the chain, now."

I took my first real look at the girl. For some reason, she was wearing a heavy wool coat ten sizes too big for her ... and nothing else. She was clutching at the gold necklace around her neck and shouting at the old man. "No! I don't wanna disappear!"

"That's because you didn't listen to me before. Please, listen to me now before it's too late!"

Something about the way the necklace glittered by the light of the distant street lamp called to me. It wasn't money, but it might be valuable. There was something more than that, though. I couldn't quite understand why, but for some reason I knew I desperately needed it. My hand felt as if it was moving on it own as I reached out and grabbed the necklace. "Gimme that!"

The girl froze when I yanked at the necklace. It had broken more easily than I had expected and slithered almost snakelike from her loosened grip. Then, slowly, she faded away. I reached out to where the girl had been and found nothing but empty air. I was barely able to whisper, "What happened?"

I looked up at the old man, who was shaking his head and sighing. "You made your choice, Jessie. For what it's worth, I wish you well."

"Wait!" I shouted as the man began fading. "You've got to help me!"

"I'm sorry, but I'm not a part of the reality you've chosen." Even though he was nearly gone, his gaze felt like it was burning into the back of my skull. "I have one last piece of advice. The chain has been broken. Unless you want to be trapped forever, don't let it link back up. Goodbye Jessie. Good luck."

When he had completely faded, I noticed the wallet had disappeared from my right hand, but the necklace was still in my left. I shoved the necklace in my pants pocket and started running. I had finally lost my mind and was scared senseless. What little bit of my brain that could still function was wondering if it was the lack of food or sleep that had caused the hallucination. I couldn't seem to get my legs working properly and managed to trip over my own feet, falling hard onto the concrete sidewalk.

Once I caught my breath, I pulled myself back to my feet. My knees felt bruised and my hands and right cheek burned from being scraped across the the rough cement, but for the most part I was okay. I began walking slowly in the same direction I had been running when I noticed an unusual warmth in my left pants pocket.

I reached in and found the necklace was hot to the touch and had a soft golden glow when I pulled it out. The broken link was whole again. My stomach began churning as I held the necklace in both hands. A part of me was afraid and wanted to throw it away, then run away screaming. Another part wanted to hold it close and keep it safe. After holding it out at arms length, the second part won and I found myself slipping the necklace over my head.

The warmth of the necklace sank into my chest. When it drifted into my stomach, the nervous rumbling settled, only to be replaced by a queasy shifting sensation. My arms and legs tingled as the warmth reached out to my fingers and toes, and my ears started ringing as it rose into my head and my scalp itched something awful. Everything began spinning before the sidewalk came flying up at me.

When the dizziness left, I pulled myself up for the second time that night. The first thing I noticed as I got to my feet was a curtain of hair blocking my vision. The second thing I noticed was how much colder I felt. This was mostly because I was completely naked. I looked around nervously. My surroundings were familiar, but everything seemed so much bigger. Just as I was starting to really panic, I heard someone walk up behind me.

"Hello Jessie. It looks like you didn't take my advice."

I whirled around and saw the old black man towering over me. If I had any strength to move, I would have run. Instead, I asked the first meaningful question I could pull together. "What are you talking about?"

The man was shrugging off his coat as he answered. "I had told you not to let the chain link back up. It looks like the necklace is whole again." He draped the coat over my shoulders and pulled my hands through the sleeves. After crouching down in front of me, he gave me a sharp look before doing up the coat buttons. "You've got a second chance, but you're going to need to trust me and do what I say when I say it."

My brain still felt like it was stuck on stupid. "But ... what's going on? Why does everything look so big? What happened to my clothes?"

The man frowned and seemed deep in thought for a minute."I'm not entirely sure. I'd have to go back to my bookstore to do some more research. The best answer I can give right now is you've had a deep need to be this shape and size for a very long time." He lifted the necklace from my chest. "Either you found this or it found you. Either way, it brought you into my reality so you could be the person you needed to be. I haven't figured out why yet, but your clothes are a part of your old reality."

I looked down and stared at my bare feet. "I still don't understand."

The old man chuckled. "That makes two of us. Why don't you come with me so I can get some food in you and do some research?"

After having gone without food for so long, I would have followed anyone if I thought there was a chance to get something to eat. For the first time I noticed how squeaky my voice sounded when I said, "Wow, thank you."

He answered with a nod and a smile, then took my hand and began leading me back the way I had come.

My feet had gone numb from walking on the frozen sidewalk and I was wishing at least my shoes had stayed behind when someone stepped in front of us, blocking our path. He stunk of something stale and sour. The way his shoulders were hunched made me wonder if he was colder than I was feeling. His voice sounded raw and raspy as he managed to croak out, "Gimme all your money, or else!"

Even with him silhouetted by the distant street light behind him, something seemed very familiar about the tall boy. The old man gave my hand a reassuring squeeze before letting go and saying to him, "Or else what, Jessie?"

Jessie? That was my name! My mind began to whirl with the implications and the discussion that came next barely registered until the old man touched my shoulder and said, "This is it. You have to break the chain and give it to him."

I thought back to what happened to the girl when I had pulled the necklace off her neck. "But, I'll disappear if I do!"

"Please, just this one time, trust me." The old man, ignoring the boy when he shouted, added with more urgency, "There's not much time. You have to break the chain, now."

I lifted up the necklace and held onto it, squeezing both hands until they were tight fists. I kept remembering how the girl just faded away ... the girl who was now me. Should I really trust someone I hardly knew? I then realized in a few seconds the necklace would be taken from me. Would breaking it on my own make any difference? I shut my eyes tight, took in a deep breath, and yanked at the chain with all my might.

I felt a deep emptiness as a link broke open behind my neck. To my surprise, I was still here. I opened one eye, looked up at the old man and saw him smiling at me. "Good girl. Now give him the necklace."

I opened both eyes and looked up at the boy. Even in shadow, I recognized the face. It was my face. At least, it used to be. When I held the necklace up to him, he took it more gently than I had been expecting. A small smile crept across his face. "Thank you. I just realized what's been happening. I think things will work out okay now once I take this back to where it belongs."

The boy began fading as he turned to the old man. "Thank you so much for your help. I don't think I'll try fixing the necklace again."

"You're welcome, Jessie. Sometimes, there are chains that are meant to be broken."

The boy nodded and his smile broadened before he turned and walked away, fading into ... wherever the broken chain took him.