There once was a man, whose name only his wife knew. He didn't need a real name, for he had come across the nickname: The Heart Bender.
He could bend the hearts of anyone, no matter their gender, no matter their age. Often it would be women who fought or became angered at their husbands. They came to his home, begging for a change. For only a few coins The Heart Bender would bend the heart of that woman's husband. Never again would they fight.
His wife was silent during the buisness, and might as well have never been in the house at all. Sometimes she wasn't, and she would go into town to buy her and her husband their own needs.
Her husband charged very little, earning them just enough to get by. But her husband enjoyed what he did, and for that she was glad.
But her happiness did fade, as most happiness does. It left her when a boy came to their home, asking The Heart Bender to make the girl he loved love him back. The boy said he had tried everything, but that the heart of this girl was set on another young man.
The Heart Bender agreed, telling the boy to bring her to his home that evening. The boy nodded thankfully, and left with a smile on his face. His wife didn't share that smile. She said with a firm tone that choosing one's path for love was wrong, especially for the young, ignorant teens.
The Heart Bender replied with the words, "As long as both are happy, it doesn't matter whether or not they know why." His wife was not convinced, but allowed her husband to proceed with his business.
She loved him very much, and already felt bad for going against his work. She understood his opinions on things, even if she disagreed, and respected them with all her heart.
The Heart Bender did his job, and the girl fell in love with the boy. Apparently the message of The Heart Bender had spread after that day, and buisness was busier than ever.
Eventually The Heart Bender was so busy that he was able to spend little time with his own wife. He didn't know that she was feeling melancholy.
She felt sad for all the men and women whose hearts had been bent, and who had not chosen their own lives. She felt sad for the people who had once even wanted divorce, but now was thrust into a flawless love.
Even more so, she felt frustrated with her own self. She wished she could make herself tell her husband how she felt just one more time, but could not bring herself to. She wrote that in a journal of hers that was not found until nearly a hundred years later.
Days past and she did not begin to feel any better. She stood outside alone every day, staring up at the mountain looming overhead. One tragic day she climbed up it, dragging her husband away from his work and up it with her. It was then that she explained her feelings to them.
But instead of apologizing, and promising amends, he attempted to bend his own wife's heart. She turned her back, not wanting to live the life of a lie. Without another word, she jumped off the edge. They say that her husband watched her fall, and driven mad with grief, never bent another heart. He instead stabbed them, going on a killing spree. He stabbed all the people he could find right there in the chest. Blood covered his hands as more and more people began to fear the crazed man known only as The Heart Bender.
He blamed all these people for the loss of his wife, instead of his own self. He craved the blood of lovers. He even killed the teenage couple he created.
We don't know what really happened after he killed all those people. Some say he was caught, others say that he wasn't, and that he died of natural causes. Some say that he is still hunting, his heart already full of blood forever craving more. All I can tell you is what happened, and warn you to be cautious. Anybody's heart can give out, at any time, for any reason.
Just love who you wish, and don't let anyone change that. Who am I to tell you this? The descendent of The Heart Bender's brother, who was the only person left to attend The Heart Bender's funeral.
