Let Me Stitch Your Broken Heart

Carly made a quick stop at Gopher’s suite to pick up her stolen hollow opals before racing to the Opal Room the morning after. Colton’s last kiss still tingled on her lips—she had to finish her task before that feeling left her.

“Tallina!” Carly called as she burst through the glass doors. “Tallina!” She skidded to a stop and rapped on the gemstone. Finally, a reassuring buzz infected the air. Carly leaned close and explained quickly, “I have a token! Someone loves you out here! I have proof!”

“Who? And what’s your proof?” Tallina was obviously skeptical.

“A kiss from Colton.”

There was a tense silence.

Tallina’s small voice couldn’t have sounded more vulnerable when she finally responded. “He loves me?”

“Yes, but he doesn’t know that I can bring you back. Look, I have a kiss from him, but we have to hurry. C’mon, Tallina!”

“I’m not entirely sold on this…”

Carly sighed with frustration and responded hurriedly, “Fine. I asked him if he still loved you and he just said that you were gone forever. He didn’t say yes. He didn’t say no. But, I am absolutely positive that if he knew that you weren’t gone forever he would admit his everlasting love for you.”

“Don’t try to bribe me with poetic phrases. I know there must be something in this for you.”

She ignored the accusation and continued, “So I got a kiss from him to save you to prove to him that you aren’t gone. Got it? Now can we speed this process along? I don’t want to lose it.”

“Wait, so I’m supposed to believe that this kiss from Colton will prove his undying love for me when you can’t even confirm that he actually loves me to start with?”

“He does love you! I know him. Trust me. Do you wanna be free or not?”

“Yes, I do. I’m just…I’m not so good with this blind faith thing. What if it doesn’t work? What if he is over me?”

“What if this is your only shot at freedom?”

Another silence expanded between them.

“Fine,” Tallina answered. “Kiss me, Carly Wade!”

Carly bent forward even farther and pressed her (luckily) still tingling lips to Tallina’s opal as she held up a hollow opal in preparation. She brought forth every memory and every feeling from the night before. Her mind was overloaded and her body weakened from the large cascade of emotion. Carly used all her energy to portray those feelings to Tallina. Suddenly, a white light forced itself through her closed eyelids. She opened them into slits. Tallina’s black opal had become white and glittery. The light emanating from it nearly blinded Carly and left her speechless.
As a last thought, Carly pushed the hollow opal against Tallina’s now heavenly opal. It shook and grew increasingly hotter in her hand, but she held on tight. All of the sudden, a swift wind seemed to vacuum all the air from the room with an audible pop. An invisible force threw Carly backward, away from Tallina’s opal. Now, instead of a glittering white opal in the wall, a clear glass-like rock held its place. Hesitantly, Carly uncurled her clenched fist and peered in at the once-hollow opal. It now was a swirling white rather than the hard gray it had been before. The swirls rotated spastically, mesmerizing Carly with ease.

“Tallina?” she whispered.

There was no answer. Carly pressed the false opal to her ear and listened intently.

“Tallina?” she tried again with more volume.

A lovely hum generated itself from within the fake gem and twisted its tune around the room beautifully. Carly took this as a good sign and sat watching the swirls, anticipating her next move.

A sudden bang startled her from her hypnosis as Colton collided with the doors from outside. She watched him back up comically and retry opening them properly. She laughed when he finally made it inside.

“Trouble?” she asked with a grin.

“You have no idea.” Colton shook his head without joining in on the laughter.

“What’s wrong?”

“Yasmijin went into labor unexpectedly.”

“Well, I’ll say! I didn’t even know she was pregnant.”

“She and Kareltje were discussing it when they first took us. You wouldn’t have understood.”

“Oh.” The reality of what was occurring hadn’t hit Carly, yet.

“Anyways, they say the baby isn’t going to make it.”

A worried expression clouded her face. “Why not?”

“I don’t know. No one would give me details. They just kept going on about how no one had time to prepare one for the kid. I don’t even know what ‘one’ is.”

Carly stopped for a moment. An idea suddenly formed in her mind. She had somewhat twisted the truth to Tallina when she was convincing her to accept the kiss from Colton. From what Carly had gathered, the souls just had to fully believe that they were getting their one desire. They didn’t have to actually get it. That kiss had been intended for Carly in every way. Also, Tallina had to be reborn as an infant because Carly definitely wasn’t going to go kill anyone. So, that meant that there was a pretty slim chance that Colton and Tallina would ever be together in that way again. Without meaning to, Yasmijin had just filled the final hole in Carly’s plan. “I do. I know what ‘one’ is. Where is she?”

“Yasmijin? Trust me, you don’t wanna be around these things when they’re in labor. It’s not pretty.” Genuine fear glimmered in his eyes as he spoke.

Carly responded through gritted teeth, “Where is she, Colton?”

Even more worried about his safety, Colton obliged quickly, “Uh, I’ll show you.”

Carly followed him silently through a series of hallways and finally to a doorway.

“She’s in there.”

“Thank you.” She began to walk in determinedly.

“Um, Carly?”

She turned. “Yeah?”

“Be careful in there.”

“Don’t worry. I have a plan.”

He sighed. “I’m sure you do.”

Carly entered the room to find Faas sitting in a corner, facing a wall and Yasmijin on a mat spread across the floor with a tent-like structure over the lower half of her body. Kareltje was kneeling on the floor, holding one of her many hands. Yasmijin appeared to be screaming without sound, but all the other creatures were gripping their ears in pain. Her eyes flashed a million colors at once and slime oozed of her skin and into a puddle around her and her husband. Three tongues danced wildly within her mouth, tangling around each other. Carly noticed two white-clothed feet extended from the other side of Yasmijin’s tent. She assumed it was the doctor. Two other creatures dressed in white were huddled in a corner wearing red earmuffs and speaking in some sort of sign language—presumably about the absence of a soul for the coming baby. Carly read the clock above their heads. 3:36 PM She gasped. No wonder they were so worried. Properly freeing a soul took hours when it felt like only moments. She’d been in the Opal Room for a ridiculous period of time. For a fleeting second, she wondered about Gopher. This thought vanished when Yasmijin’s high-pitched screams became audible for her. Immediately, Carly threw her hands up to her ears as well. She nearly dropped Tallina in the process. She had to act quickly. The baby could arrive at any moment.

Across the room, Faas sat doubled over in his chair. Carly walked over and reluctantly placed a hand on his shoulder. Luckily, Yasmijin’s screams hit a higher frequency at the same second and left Carly’s range again. Faas sat up mechanically.

“Yes?” he asked with false openness.

“I’m here to help.”

“And how do you plan to do that?”

“With this.” Carly held out Tallina’s opal for him to see.

“Where did you get that?”

“It doesn’t matter. What does matter is your future grandchild. You and I both know a baby will die without a soul. I know what I’m holding and I know its power.”

“But how did you get it?”

“I gave her her greatest desire.”

“Her? Wait, who is this?” Faas pointed to the no-longer-hollow gem with skepticism.

“Tallina. Your daughter.”

“How—?”

“Don’t ask questions. Just go with it. I did this for you as a thank you for what you’ve done for me.”

“What have I done for you?”

“You allowed me those few hours of freedom,” she spoke with audible gratitude.

“But…I thought that was what the four pints are for.”

Carly voice portrayed generosity when she asked him, “Will you still be needing them?”

“No…I suppose…well…”

“Do you need them or not, Faas? Because you know I’d be happy to let you have them.”

“I love Tallina. I love Yasmijin. I love this grandchild whom I haven’t even met. I just…I wish their mother could be here to see this.”

Carly contemplated her words before answering, “You really miss her, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Well, whatever you n—”

They were interrupted by a somewhat celebratory shout from the doctor inside the tent, “It’s a girl!”

“C’mon. That’s your granddaughter. You can save her. You know what to do.”

Faas seemed to mull over his thoughts a hundred times each before finally standing as he announced, “A soul was prepared!”

A collective cheer rose from the people in the room. Yasmijin may have actually smiled through her pain. Kareltje began weeping happily—and loudly.

The ruler of Celildh and new grandfather to a girl that was previously his own daughter turned to Carly. “Thank you so much, Carly. You have no idea what this means for both me and my kingdom. I owe you eternal servitude.”

Carly laughed. “That won’t be necessary. A portal home is all I need.”

“Then you shall have it. We will meet in the throne room later to arrange it.”

“Thank you.”

“No, thank you.” Faas waved to a guard outside. “Take this young lady to Gopher’s suite to prepare for a trip home.”

The guard nodded curtly. “Yes, Your Majesty.” He linked Carly’s arm in his and led her out the door.

“Oh, and Carly,” Faas called.

She turned towards him as best as she could. “Yes?”

“Tell that boyfriend of yours that he can go with you back to your realm.”

The word ‘boyfriend’ conjured up mental images of River to Carly. She forced them away, bringing a large grin to her face at her success.

“Actually, tell him he is ordered to go with you.” A look of authoritative sincerity passed over Faas otherworldly features.

Carly’s grin shrank to a small smile. She hadn’t wanted Colton to come, while at the same time she did. Now, she would definitely have to deal with the situation she was dreading the most. It was now unavoidable. Sadness threatened to creep toward her. She nodded at Faas graciously as a distraction and as a means for clearing her head and continued walking with the guard.

Colton was waiting in the hallway outside Gopher’s door. “Well, what happened? Will the baby live? Why did you have to go in there?” He had clearly been worrying since he’d left her. Nervous pacing had probably led him to her door.

The guard addressed Carly before allowing her to go, “Another servant has been placed with the responsibility of His Grace’s pet. The suite is yours for the remainder of your stay.”

“Thank you.”

The guard left her there with Colton and his many questions. He stared at her expectantly.

Carly responded with a dead-on stare. “Let’s go inside.” She opened the door and let him go ahead of her.

“Carly, is everything okay?”

Another idea entered her mind: a trick her mother sometimes played on her when holidays came around and Carly had opened all her presents without finding the number one thing on her list.

She sighed dramatically and sat on the bed. She gently beat her heels against the end of the trunk sticking out beneath the bed skirt. “I have some…news.”

“What kind of news?”

“Well…the kind that you may or may not be…happy with.”

Colton paused for a moment, trying to determine if he even wanted to hear this news. “Okay. Say it. I’m ready. Hit me.” He slapped the palms of his hands on his chest and hunched over like a football player about to begin a so-so play.

“Alright, if you’re sure…”

“I’m sure, I’m sure. Go!”

She inhaled deeply and exhaled with fast-paced words, “Faasissendingushome!” Carly mustered up the best grin she could manage and hoped he wouldn’t see through it. I’m a walking travesty. She hated lying—especially to the people she cared about.

“What? He is? But, why?”

“Don’t ask questions. Just accept it and thank me.” She feigned a cheesy ego at her triumph and spread her arms for a hug.

“You did this?” Now, a grin was sneaking up on his face. He laughed and seemed unable to form the right sentence.

Colton wrapped Carly in his arms and twirled her around. They cheered and giggled at the thought of freedom. They hadn’t been in Celildh long, but home seemed like a surreal idea. Colton finally stopped spinning after a few minutes of noisy rejoicing and laid Carly down on the bed and hovered over her. With his hands and knees on either side of her body, he crawled over her until his mouth was parallel to hers. Colton leaned in slowly, holding the intense gaze between them. His lips barely brushed hers; it was a question. She answered both willingly and unwillingly when she lifted her head a fraction of an inch to fully press their lips together. After a moment, however, she pulled back again.

“What’s wrong?” he asked innocently.

“Nothing. It’s just that we get to go home today and I refuse to reunite with my parents when I look like a hooker.”

Colton laughed. “May I help?”

“Help what?”

He rolled his eyes playfully. “With your clothes, of course!”

“Because you’re such an expert!” She gestured to his dirt-caked jeans and mismatched shirt and jacket.

“Hey! I have a limited wardrobe here!”

“So do I! Look!” Carly shimmied out from beneath Colton and bent down to pull the trunk from beneath the bed. “See?”

“You have a ton of stuff! All I got were these pants, a jacket, and two shirts. I planned on alternating them.”

“Good plan.”

“Yes, it is a good plan.”

They laughed together again. The whole faking-happiness deal was getting easier by the minute. It was too hard to be anything but happy around him.

“Alright,” he said, “let’s have a look at your options, miss.”

“Okay, sir,” she played along, “but I have to warn you. There are some garments within this trunk that may harm one’s eyes.”

“Well then, mademoiselle, I’ll just have to wear these.” He pulled a pair of lime green sunglasses from the trunk and put them on.

“Hey! Where did you find those?”

“Behind the bras.”

“Why were you—oh never mind.”

Colton smiled and lifted up a small dress that shimmered gold. “How about this?”

“Parents, Colton, parents!” she stressed with irritation. “I don’t want them to know what a whore I am.” Her true feelings showed through accidentally.

Being intuitive, Colton picked up on it. “What? What are you talking about?”

Carly shook her head. “Nothing. Don’t sweat it.” She added an obviously forced smile.

Colton wasn’t convinced. “Is this about last night? Do you—”

“Colton! It’s fine. I’m a girl; I’m moody. Forget it.”

“But—”

She spoke slowly and deliberately, “Everything is a-okay.”

“Alright, I’ll just let it…” he trailed off.

“Go,” Carly finished for him.

“Yeah.” He was still unconvinced.

“Well then, it’s off to find another outfit,” she said excitedly. She felt bad for dampening Colton’s mood, so she decided to make it up to him. “You can help me change,” she sang as she waggled her eyebrows.

Colton couldn’t help but smile. “Gold dress?”

“Nope.” Carly pulled out a pastel tinted dress with stripes. There were limits.

His shoulders sagged comically. “Fine.” He stuck out his bottom lip and batted his eyelashes sweetly.

“I’m not changing my mind. That puppy-dog look won’t work on me.”

“Alright. C’mere.”

Colton pulled her towards him by the waist as they giggled excitedly.

After changing, the two sat on the floor to talk and dream of home. Half an hour later, their musings were interrupted by an abrupt knocking at the door. An unintelligible shout erupted from the other side. Colton and Carly shared a worried glance.

Carly reacted first and whispered roughly to Colton, “Go to the kitchen. Hide somewhere.”

“I’m not leaving you alone and unprotected.”

“This is my room. They might not know you’re in here. It’s best if they think it’s only me. Now, go!”

He glared at her for a moment, but got up and exited the bedroom.

Carly stood as well and opened the door to find a guard waiting for her.

“His Highness requests your presence in the throne room immediately. I am to escort you.”

“Do you know what this is about?”

“His Grace said only that your presence was required. He also asks that you alert the hybrid.”

“I will. Wait here. I’ll be ready in a moment.”

“See that you do not stall.”

“I’m very aware of the importance of your ruler’s requests and how they are carried out. I don’t need to be reminded. I will be out in a minute. You can exercise your patience while you wait.”

The guard was quiet then as he stepped back from the doorway and assumed position. Carly shut the door and called Colton.

He was already coming out of his unnecessary hiding place. “I heard everything.” He put an arm around her back and rubbed her arm comfortingly. “Let’s go home.”

Carly smiled and they joined the guard outside.

When the trio reached the throne room, Faas was already there. He stood as they entered and nodded to Carly reverently. Their escort led them to two lavish seats positioned across from the main throne. Faas sat down again next to an empty, more feminine throne.

“I am sure the two of you are aware why you are here?” he spoke the statement like a question.

Carly responded simply, “Yes, we do.”

“Very good. A portal is being drawn for you as we speak. You will pass through and find a car waiting on the other side. The hybrid is to drive you, Carly, to your house and then return the car to where you found it. He will then travel on foot back to his own home. Two days later, the car will have disappeared and the portal will have been closed. All portals from then on out will be specially coded so that neither of you will ever be able to enter our realm again. It is the best way. Is that understood?”

Colton and Carly nodded in unison.

“Wonderful. Before I allow you to leave, however, we must discuss a matter that is very important to my well-being.”

Carly began mentally preparing herself for what she assumed would happen next. Colton tensed, angry at the changes Carly had allowed to be made to his and Faas’s deal. Four pints is way too many. One pint is way too many.

“My wife is missing. I sent my troops all over both my realm and yours. She was nowhere to be found. We’ve been searching for what feels like eternity. Carly was aware of this, however, I believe the hybrid was not. I miss her dearly. I would give almost anything to have her home again. She would have loved to have been here when dear little Talitha was born. Unfortunately, she was not and that fact hurts me. Luckily, that hurt may soon be mended.”

His ex-slaves looked up in surprise.

“We were able to speak to Tallina before she was transferred. Her reason for going to see Colton that fateful day was to get him to help her find her mother. She had acquired what seemed to be a successful lead—something we hadn’t come across in decades. Before she could inform us of it, however, The Forces drew her to Talitha, her newborn niece. Once Talitha reaches a reasonable age, we will be able to teach her to reach deep into her supernatural memory and recall that lead. In less than a century, my wife may very well be home again. I have you to thank for that, Carly. My gratitude is inexpressibly great.”

Carly smiled widely, glad to have made such a tortured man happy again. “You are very welcome. And I thank you for teaching me so much about myself and for allowing me to go home, now. You have no idea how happy that makes me.”

“I think I might have somewhat of an idea.” Faas smiled back kindly.

Colton, confused and surprised, looked around at the guards for some explanation. What’s this talk of ‘supernatural’ and ‘The Forces’ and Tallina? How could they have spoken to her? It makes no sense. Tallina is dead. I killed her. Right?

“Guards!” Faas’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “Lead these two to the portal. See that they get through safely.”

Two guards walked over to escort Carly and Colton to a back room that Faas and the rulers of Celildh before him had dedicated to the conjuring of portals.

“Oh, and hybrid!”

“Yes?” Colton half-turned.

“The realm-time continuum has been properly set since your little accident. However, we were only able to get it repaired just this morning. Your world may be very different, now. I suggest you prepare yourself as well as your little girlfriend.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you.” Colton wasn’t worried about his family. They were all immortal. Carly’s, on the other hand, were only human. There was no way to know how much time had passed since they’d been gone.

“Good-bye, Carly, hybrid. I wish you well.”

“Good-bye, Faas. I wish you luck with your search and your granddaughter. Better watch out for those boys!” Carly laughed.

“Oh, I will be,” Faas answered with a stern glare at Colton. “I hope to never see either of you again.”

“It’s mutual,” Colton mumbled.

The guards opened the doors to the room where the portal was, then. A creature dressed in deep blue and purple stood next to it, waiting for them.

“Are you prepared?” he asked.

Carly and Colton nodded silently. Nervousness was creeping up slowly. They had no idea what to expect.

“Alright then, you know what to do.”

They clasped hands and looked at each other as they stood before the swirling portal. Wind whipped their hair and raised the tension of the scene. They each inhaled deeply, ready for freedom from Celildh, no matter the positive changes that were sure to take place there. Carly nodded slightly at Colton. He answered with an equally small nod.

“One, two, three!”

They jumped.