Paper Hearts 4

4th Draft
8-30-18

I woke up in the forest. I had gotten lost when the night fell and I was still out in the woods. I couldn't see where I was going, so had lain down on a rock to sleep.

In the faint morning light, I could see that I had wandered to a strange part of the forest. A place where instead of fruit, the trees grew plump hearts, each with a name on it.

There were a few people in the forest with me, wandering through the grove and examining the hearts which had fallen off of the trees. When they would find one they liked, they would pick it and then hold it close to their chest. It must tell them where to go, as everyone who did this soon began to walk in the same direction as the rest had before them.

Close to me, an old man was reaching for a heart. I tapped him to get his attention, and he turned to look. When he saw me, he made a face and ruffled my hair.

To help, I picked up the heart and handed it to him. It was big and wrinkly, and the name was written in calligraphy.

Instead of holding it to his chest, he instead took my hand. Together, we walked around looking at the scattered hearts on the floor. He would pick some up and show them to me, but I didn't really like any of them.

Eventually, he handed me a heart which I realized had my name written on it, in my favorite blue marker, in big jagged letters.

Without thinking, I picked it up and buried my face into its softness. I inhaled the scent of Mom, of my favorite stuffed animal, of my bed, of home.

When I finally looked up, I saw that the sun had risen up over the horizon, and was shining through the trees. I looked up at the old man and he smiled back.

We held hands, and together walked towards the light.