Half A Heart

“Hurry up, Honey! We’ll be late again.”, the man
implores his wife. “I’m almost ready. Be a dear
and get my pearl necklace from my jewelry box.”
Finding the pearls, rushing out the door, is his plan.

But there among all the expensive gems and glittering gold,
an inexpensive silver heart - the left half of a heart really,
made with a saw-tooth right edge, engraved with “Our two
hearts together make one” - indicates a story previously untold.

“Hon, what’s this? Have you been keeping a secret memento
of some old boyfriend…some old flame of yours?”
“No. I got that from my older sister when we both were only
teens. It has more meaning to me than you could ever know.

My sister bought that - half for her to wear, the other half for her
long-time boyfriend to wear. One day he broke up, returning his,
saying he no longer wanted to have any part of her heart. She
tossed both halves away; now it wasn’t something to remember.

I retrieved them from the trash. A year later when leukemia took its toll,
befalling my dear sister, I put the other half around her neck, while I
wore this half. She died wearing hers, even now in her grave.” Eyes now
glistening, she softly says “One day we’ll reunite, making my heart whole.”


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