Roxy
There are stories I've heard so often about a man they call the heart tailor. They say that he can fix any heart, no matter how damaged. No one has actually seen his heart, but they say it's so large and so vibrant you can feel it just by being in his presence. Some say he has eyes as blue as the ocean, and some say they're the deepest green you'll ever see, but they all say you can feel the compassion in them. Everyone has heard about him one way or another, and many have tried to find him, including myself. Everyone listened to stories and searched everywhere they could but so few people found him. I need him. My heart is damaged, I can't figure out what's wrong, neither can my family or my love. I want to feel whole again, and I need what they say he can give. And just when I was losing hope in finding him, everything changed.
My friend Tabby came to me with her heart in her hands and the purest smile I had seen on her face in a long time. "He's real" she gushed. My chest fluttered, butterflies filled my stomach. I looked down at her heart, it was gentle and red, and carefully patched together with golden thread in so many places.
"What happened?" I tried my best not to sound anxious but I know it was everywhere in my voice.
"I was walking home, and I looked over at a group of guys playing basketball and there was a man that just radiated warmth. I just knew it had to be him. So I waited. And when they finished I ran up to him and struck up conversation, we talked for a while, and he was so kind, he heard every word and seemed to care so much. And then I showed him my heart. He took it gently in his hands and asked me to meet him there again tomorrow. I was a little nervous about letting someone take my heart, but I felt like it was what I needed to do. So I met him back at the court and as he handed back my heart I felt this warmth wash over me. He told me he'd done what he could and he was sorry he couldn't do more. He had fixed patches I hadn't even seen! And I can't tell you how great it feels Rox."
I looked at her and every fiber of my being pleaded before I could even gasp the words out. "Can you take me to him"
"Of course!" She chirped before grabbing me by the hand and dragging me away.
We approached the court and I knew as soon as we got close exactly which one he was. He was taller and skinnier than I expected. But you could see the glow around him. I could feel my heart pounding against me, as they took the last shot I heard the most joyous laugh, and he walked up to one of the guys, who has a glow almost as bright as his own, but it wasn't quite the same. He hugged him and patted him on the head and walked to change his shoes. As he sat down, tabby grabbed me by the hand and drug me to him. As we approached he looked up, and locked eyes with me, then looked over to Tabby. "Hello! How are you feeling?" He asked in a calm and low voice.
"I feel amazing!" She gleamed "thank you so much again. But um.... could you help my friend sir? She really needs you." for a split second I saw a flicker in his eyes, but I'm not sure what exactly it was. But it was gone just as quickly as it came and he looked to me. His eyes were blue, made a little brighter by the blue shirt he had on. His hair a shaggy blond mess. His smile gentle and sweet.
"Of course" he said slowly and gently. "May I speak with her for a while?" He asked Tabby and she nodded and smiled, but didn't move. After a long pause she squeaked
"Speak to her alone.. of course, I'm sorry" she hurried before scurrying off. He then looked at me and smiled, he radiated so bright that I felt a little warmer just being close to him. We talked for a while, it seemed he was just getting to know me, learning what I liked and how I acted, and then after a long while talking as the sun began to set he asked me if I would give him my heart for the night and meet him back here. I froze for a second, I felt nervous, but as I looked into his eyes I knew it would be okay. I carefully pulled my heart out and handed it to him.
"Please be careful with that..." I stumbled as he took it gently in his hands.
"Well of course" he smiled "that's the only way they should be handled. I'll meet you back here tomorrow." And with that he left. As I walked home I began to feel sluggish without my heart. So I smiled to Lustra, when I got home, told him I loved him but i needed to sleep. And went to bed. I woke late in the afternoon. Still feeling worn down but ready to head to the basketball court I'd seen him at. When I got there he was sitting on the bench while the rest of the guys played. I walked over next to him and slumped down gently onto the bench. "Hello again" he said cheerily, but there was something a little different this time. I couldn't put my finger on it. He looked at me and gently reached into a bag and carefully pulled my heart out. I saw golden wire threaded through places I didn't know were damaged, I took it gently in my hands and carefully put it up. And the entire world brightened. In an instant everything changed. I felt an all new kind of joy spread from my toes to my head and I felt invigorated. I felt brand new. I threw my arms around him, and he strongly returned the hug. As he separated he looked at me. His eyes were just as kind and gentle but they dropped a little, and he seemed to almost have bags under his eyes, but I was pulled out of my thoughts as he spoke again
"I did everything I could. I'm sorry i couldn't do more. I hope you enjoy" he said in the most genuine and compassionate voice I could imagine, and I felt energy burst through my body. I looked towards the court and the man he had hugged was looking at us. His glow was just as bright as before, but it didn't feel as warm today. We locked eyes for just a second, he scoffed, shook his head, and went back to playing. Before I could even say anything the heart tailor spoke up "Don't mind him, he's just the jealous type. You should go be with your family and your lover, they will be happy to have you back to yourself." He encouraged. So I got up, thanked him one last time and left. And my life has flourished since. I feel so much better, I love deeper and smile brighter. And I'm here to tell you that the heart tailor is real. So hold on to that hope.
Christopher
I grabbed a Powerade and plopped onto the couch to rest. I'd gone to work out after basketball, and he stayed behind to talk to some girl again. He never learns. My fiancée Robin plopped next to me we sat together and watched tv for a long while when I heard the door open and close, and hurried footsteps run into the garage. I smiled at Robin, and she already knew what was going on. She nodded at me and I walked down into the garage. "Hey best friend" I called to him.
" Hey, honey!" He cheered back, but he was already fast at work. I sat down across from his make shift work bench and watched as he set the girls heart gently down. Her red heart looked perfectly fine to me. Yet he was gonna fix it like always. He gracefully produced his own heart and set it down on the work bench. The unique gold of his heart glowed as bright as it always does. It's pretty incredible honestly. I've seen plenty of hearts and all of them are just the same old red, but for some reason his was different. He began peeling away. pulling thin pieces off of his heart. I grabbed his hand to stop him and he looked up at me.
"Don't give me that look." He pleaded.
"You don't have to do this. You need to stop doing this. It's not worth it, bro! Just take it back and tell her you don't see anything wrong with it. It looks perfectly fine to me."
"But it's not Chris, and I can fix it. I will fix it." He said coldly and simply. He had that look in his eyes, and I knew he was set on it. I let go of his hands and let him work. I felt my heart drop as I saw him peel more and more off his own heart. He carefully and gently sewed together pieces of the heart that didn't even seem broken to me. But it always worked. You could always see the glow in people's eyes when they got their heart back. I looked at his heart again. It was smaller than when we first met. And shreds of it were just peeled off. But no matter how small and tattered his heart seemed to get, he didn't change. He fought through. He helped everyone he could. The problem is, the more the stories spread, the more people look for him, and the more people that find him the easier it gets for others to find him. No one sees him like a person any more, they see him as a hero who can repair their heart. And heroes don't need any help. So no one is looking to help him put his heart back together anymore.
