Chapter Text
The compass wouldn't stop spinning.
At least, that is what Esme assumed it was. She had found it in a small box hidden under a pile of photo albums in her grandmother's attic. As she ran her thumb over the letters, SWIM, embossed on the cover, Esme felt a need to keep the necklace, which she couldn't explain. After cleaning it up, she fastened the chain around her neck, and as it settled on her chest, it felt as though it had always been there.
Esme could tell that it was meant to open, but it seemed the years had sealed it shut, and she didn't want to risk damaging it by forcing it open. However, today, as she was fiddling with it, the locket had suddenly opened. She took it off so she could see inside. At first glance, it looked like a compass, but then she noticed the letters at the four points weren't NESW for north, east, south, and west, but IMSW.
If it wasn't pointing north, then where was it meant to point towards?
As she watched it spin back and forth, Esme fell into a trance, and it stopped. She moved without thinking, following the compass as it seemed to be leading her somewhere unknown. Going up some steps, she was suddenly inside, but she barely noticed her surroundings. A sense of urgency had built within her, and she was running. She stopped in front of a model ship. Her hand dropped to her side, still holding the chain of the compass.
The lights in the rest of the room switched off until only the one above the ship remained. Esme studied the ship, feeling an odd connection to it. She wondered what it would be like to sail the ocean, such a vast place, away from the pressures of modern life. As her eyes roamed from the sails to the helm, she could have sworn she heard the sound of the ocean.
As the sound of waves roared in her ears, Esme closed her eyes, and that was the last thing she remembered.