Love Sick

She fell lifeless against the hardened earth beneath her. She had lost everything in sickness. Her eyes, a once pale green, now resembled the hollow gray of anger. Heart-shaped lips once proud and beautiful are now wrinkled and weary. She had lost everything. Even her hair now was not what it once was--an inky black so humble it hurt to stare upon it. Sadly now, its weathered locks are lucky to catch the time of a passing bird eager to release its spiteful glory.

            It began to rain then. The unforgiving earth released itself beneath her. She watched as the mud wilted around her into small reflections of her once youthful appearance. She smiled at the image. It had reminded her of when she was a young girl just out of school and starting her long, joyful career as a doctor. Her parents had arranged a meeting with a young man, freshly out of Harvard Law School. It was a tradition in her family for the parents to arrange such meetings. Appearance was everything to her family and couples had to be carefully planned. She did not like this man. Even his name caused her stomach to curl. Albert Longings was his name. She had avoided him as much as possible by spending time near the stables. There was a younger man there who went by the name of Toby Hatchens. His long brown hair and navy blue eyes caught her attention. She had never seen a man like Toby before. Of course he was very stunning and handsome but there was this scar on his chest that strongly drew her to talk to him. He had loved once, he said, a young woman named Amy. He had given her his heart or at least part of it. They were meant to be together. She died the next winter and so he retrieved and protected his heart until one day he could love again.

            Joyce had never known love and the story Toby told was one of pure fantasy. Still, she gave herself to him, lost in a trance of lust and passion. They fell in love and just like Toby promised, he cut out his heart and gave it to her. He said that as long as she loved him and only him then he would continue to live. She kept the heart close to her. It was placed in a wooden box and stored in her carrying bag. They loved one another for some time. One day Joyce became sick and her parents, eager to get her away from Toby, shipped her off to Maine to live with Albert Longings. She had no idea that there was no return trip. She stayed with Albert and over the years forgot about the wooden box and the love she once had for Toby. She was married to Albert Longings and they had four beautiful children. One day on her forty-second birthday she went to the storage shed where she had put all her belongings from her youth. While searching for her old photo album she found a wooden box beneath some old tattered skirts. When she opened the box she saw the heart motionless and dry. The image of Toby haunted her and for a long time she did nothing but weep. She aged quickly now, looking years older in only a few months. Her health had drastically declined and the only explanation was that she had a broken heart.

            So she sat there in the rain remembering Toby and all he had done for her. She finally felt at peace and as the rain began to falter she left her old weathered body behind and took off towards the stars where Toby had been waiting all along.                    

Reviews

[WriterMe]

This was pretty interesting. I say more detail would have been better, but this piece was good on its own. It really makes me wonder why people submit their hearts to someone in complete trust, praying the other person wont break them. Ah, Love. The Mystery of life.
Anyway, great work =]