Divine Interruption

Her mom pointed to a teardrop-shaped piece of amber encased in yellow gold. It hung from a thick, gold chain.

“It’s pretty,” Arsinoë said, her eyes going to an ovular scarab pendant attached to a thin silver chain. “Look at the one next to it.”

She tapped the glass directly over the scarab.

It was tarnished silver. There were lines to suggest wings and a head, but no legs or antennae.

“That’s very you,” her mom said.

A male employee came up behind the counter and stood in front of them. Arsinoë absentmindedly read his nametag. Jacob.

 “Hi there. Can I help you with anything?”

“Hi, I’m interested in that necklace.” Her mom indicated the amber.

“And that one,” Arsinoë added, pointing to the scarab.

“Alright,” Jacob said. As he reached into the case, Arsinoë glanced at the security mirror hanging in the corner. She saw her own reflection and thought she saw someone stand behind she and her mom before she was distracted by Jacob handing them the necklaces. “Anything else?”

“I think that’s it for now, thanks.” Her mom examined the amber more closely.

Arsinoë turned the scarab over in her hand, the chain running between her fingers. It had what looked like a latch on the bottom between its wings. “Is this a locket?”

She gave it back to Jacob. He studied it and tried to open it by squeezing on the latch and tapping it gently on the counter.

“It might be. If it is, I don’t know how to open it.”

“Huh.”

“Sorry.”

He handed it back to Arsinoë and her mom looked over at her. “Are you going to get it?”

Arsinoë squinted to get a better view of the scarab. She picked between the wings and tried pressing down on the latch. This only left a groove on her thumb. “Yeah, I am.”