Collector of the Broken Hearts
A Heart Broken, A Heart Mended
She liked to think she was just a normal college student, but that was far from the truth. Rey, or ‘Amo-Rey’ as her friends liked to call her, had always been able to see things other couldn’t; she could see heartbreak, sadness, loneliness. These feelings weren’t just something intangible the person experiencing them went through. They had a physical form in her brilliant blue eyes: a shard of a red glass heart.
And Rey collected them.
She’d started the habit about six years ago, when she was about 16. The young woman’s first piece was her own after her high school sweetheart broke up with her. As the young red-head cried alone in her room, she noticed the shard next to her when she finally went to wipe her eyes. A shaky hand reached for the item, and when she picked it up, a weight lifted off her chest. The high school student found she was happier than before. It was then that Rey realized just what the vibrant red shards she kept seeing next to people were. So she set out on a mission to collect them.
Rey wanted to help people never feel unloved, unhappy, or lonely ever again.
The second piece of glass heart Rey picked up was from her friend whose parents fought every night. His mom screamed at his dad and vice versa, all over something as simple as forgetting to pick up a newspaper or forgetting to wash a dish after using it. The young woman had always been able to see a huge shard in her friend’s back pocket, but was never sure what it was until after her own experience. So the next day at school, the ginger grabbed it out of his back pocket when she passed by him on her way to class. When the young woman turned around to call out a greeting, her own heart swelled with warmth.
He was smiling brighter than she’d ever seen. It was like the weight of the world that was bearing down on him was suddenly gone. The boy stood straighter, more confident. His eyes had life in them and shone brighter than Rey had ever seen brown eyes shine. The girl had always been afraid her friend would do something drastic before high school finished because of the negative household, but now she was positive he’d be ok.
The young teen continued collecting pieces from her friends and teachers, putting them together in her room at home. Some shard were big; others were small. Some had sharp, jagged edges. Rey pieced them together little by little over the school year. By the end of it, she had three full glass hearts. On the last day of school, the blue-eyed girl chose the three people she’d gathered the largest shards from, and slipped the completed hearts into their backpacks. She stood back and watched as the cracks in the hearts where the pieces had been glued together vanished. Turning her eyes to the recipient, Rey smiled, seeing the looks on their faces and knowing things were better for them now.
The next year, she continued her trend, but started working outside of the school. The young woman picked up pieces from people she saw on the street, her family, her co-workers when she got a job. The best part about it all was that, every person whose piece Rey touched, became her friend. People were drawn together because of her. The ginger watched as everyone found their happiness with friends, lovers, and new people to call family. Like the year before, at the end of the year, Rey had more completed hearts – a stack of them, to be honest. Instead of simply distributing the hearts at school, the young woman walked the streets of the town, replacing pieces with hearts.
It was the happiest she’d ever seen the town.
Fast forward six years to present day. Rey was 22 now and still collecting the broken hearts of the world while living her own life. She’d been through a couple boyfriends and a girlfriend in the last few years, using her own heart shards to add to her collections. Because she knew so many people now and went to college in a big city, the ginger found she couldn’t wait until the end of the year to distribute completed hearts. So the young woman turned to giving them away as she completed them, getting a surge of warmth every time she saw someone’s world light up again. Though, being human, Rey still searched for her own true happiness. She’d used so many of her own shards that came to be because of breakups, her parents’ divorced, her grandfather dying, that the blue-eyed woman wondered if she’d ever have her own completed heart one day, never even entertaining the notion of keeping one of the ones she completed for herself.
That was when Celes waltzed into her life.
One day in fall at the start of her senior year of college, Rey received a phone call from her mother that her favorite grandmother passed away. The young woman dropped the phone on her bed in the dorm and ran outside, tears streaming down her face. She ran to her favorite place on campus – a nice, secluded area that had a bench and was surrounded by bushes and trees. The young woman all but collapsed onto the bench, sobbing over her grandmother’s passing. She didn’t notice a figure approach her until she felt the slight brush of a hand on her thigh. Looking up, the ginger was met with loving brown eyes, dark skin, and a head full of curly hair. She looked down to see an equally dark hand grab a red shard by her thigh as the pressure in her chest lessened considerably.
“You can see them, too?” she asked, startling the other young woman in front of her.
“Too? Wait, you can see the broken hearts? I’m not the only one?” the dark woman questioned. Rey found herself smiling wildly, blue eyes sparkling.
“I guess not. My name is Rey, but my friends like calling me Amo-Rey. I’m a collector of broken hearts as well,” she stated, introducing herself and holding out a hand for the other to shake. Pale hand met dark hand and with a warm, swift shake, the other responded.
“I’m Celes. It’s nice to meet you... Amore,” she said with a sly smile, indicating her play on words. Rey felt her face heat up in response to that as Celes laughed and reached behind her. “I was actually going to give you this in return for your shard. I kind of saw you run by in distress and wanted to help,” the dark woman said as the ginger saw just what was in her hand.
It was a completed heart. Celes was going to give it to her. Rey felt herself tear up again and covered her face.
“Oh no! Did I do something wrong? I’m sorry,” Celes frantically tried to calm her new friend down. Rey just shook her head, speaking through covered fingers.
“I’ve been wondering if I’d ever have my own completed heart. I never thought I would. I give so much of myself, and this is the first it’s ever been returned. I’m so happy right now...” she trailed off, a couple tears escaping and sliding down her cheeks. The other collector felt a smile grace her features as she stepped forward to envelop the other in a hug.
“Of course you’d have your own heart eventually. I’m just glad I could be the one to give it to you,” she said as Rey wrapped her arms around her. The two hugged for a little while before the ginger pulled back to wipe her eyes. Taking a deep breath, blue eyes met brown as words tumbled from pale lips.
“Would you like to grab lunch together, Celes? I’d like to get to know you more.” Dark lips pulled back to reveal white teeth in an even bigger smile than before.
“Of course! I thought you’d never ask. First though, take this. It’s yours, Amore.” With that, the heart was presented again. Rey raised both hands to wrap around the edges and bring the heart-shaped piece of glass up to her chest. The two girls watched as the heart mended and disappeared into Rey’s chest, the light brightening in blue eyes as the happiness, love, and warmth spread through her entire body.
Without a word, the two grabbed each other’s hands and started walking back to campus proper to get the lunch they’d agreed to eat together.
The collector of broken hearts wasn’t alone. The collector of broken hearts finally collected a mended heart to call her own.
The world seemed just that much brighter.
And Rey collected them.
She’d started the habit about six years ago, when she was about 16. The young woman’s first piece was her own after her high school sweetheart broke up with her. As the young red-head cried alone in her room, she noticed the shard next to her when she finally went to wipe her eyes. A shaky hand reached for the item, and when she picked it up, a weight lifted off her chest. The high school student found she was happier than before. It was then that Rey realized just what the vibrant red shards she kept seeing next to people were. So she set out on a mission to collect them.
Rey wanted to help people never feel unloved, unhappy, or lonely ever again.
The second piece of glass heart Rey picked up was from her friend whose parents fought every night. His mom screamed at his dad and vice versa, all over something as simple as forgetting to pick up a newspaper or forgetting to wash a dish after using it. The young woman had always been able to see a huge shard in her friend’s back pocket, but was never sure what it was until after her own experience. So the next day at school, the ginger grabbed it out of his back pocket when she passed by him on her way to class. When the young woman turned around to call out a greeting, her own heart swelled with warmth.
He was smiling brighter than she’d ever seen. It was like the weight of the world that was bearing down on him was suddenly gone. The boy stood straighter, more confident. His eyes had life in them and shone brighter than Rey had ever seen brown eyes shine. The girl had always been afraid her friend would do something drastic before high school finished because of the negative household, but now she was positive he’d be ok.
The young teen continued collecting pieces from her friends and teachers, putting them together in her room at home. Some shard were big; others were small. Some had sharp, jagged edges. Rey pieced them together little by little over the school year. By the end of it, she had three full glass hearts. On the last day of school, the blue-eyed girl chose the three people she’d gathered the largest shards from, and slipped the completed hearts into their backpacks. She stood back and watched as the cracks in the hearts where the pieces had been glued together vanished. Turning her eyes to the recipient, Rey smiled, seeing the looks on their faces and knowing things were better for them now.
The next year, she continued her trend, but started working outside of the school. The young woman picked up pieces from people she saw on the street, her family, her co-workers when she got a job. The best part about it all was that, every person whose piece Rey touched, became her friend. People were drawn together because of her. The ginger watched as everyone found their happiness with friends, lovers, and new people to call family. Like the year before, at the end of the year, Rey had more completed hearts – a stack of them, to be honest. Instead of simply distributing the hearts at school, the young woman walked the streets of the town, replacing pieces with hearts.
It was the happiest she’d ever seen the town.
Fast forward six years to present day. Rey was 22 now and still collecting the broken hearts of the world while living her own life. She’d been through a couple boyfriends and a girlfriend in the last few years, using her own heart shards to add to her collections. Because she knew so many people now and went to college in a big city, the ginger found she couldn’t wait until the end of the year to distribute completed hearts. So the young woman turned to giving them away as she completed them, getting a surge of warmth every time she saw someone’s world light up again. Though, being human, Rey still searched for her own true happiness. She’d used so many of her own shards that came to be because of breakups, her parents’ divorced, her grandfather dying, that the blue-eyed woman wondered if she’d ever have her own completed heart one day, never even entertaining the notion of keeping one of the ones she completed for herself.
That was when Celes waltzed into her life.
One day in fall at the start of her senior year of college, Rey received a phone call from her mother that her favorite grandmother passed away. The young woman dropped the phone on her bed in the dorm and ran outside, tears streaming down her face. She ran to her favorite place on campus – a nice, secluded area that had a bench and was surrounded by bushes and trees. The young woman all but collapsed onto the bench, sobbing over her grandmother’s passing. She didn’t notice a figure approach her until she felt the slight brush of a hand on her thigh. Looking up, the ginger was met with loving brown eyes, dark skin, and a head full of curly hair. She looked down to see an equally dark hand grab a red shard by her thigh as the pressure in her chest lessened considerably.
“You can see them, too?” she asked, startling the other young woman in front of her.
“Too? Wait, you can see the broken hearts? I’m not the only one?” the dark woman questioned. Rey found herself smiling wildly, blue eyes sparkling.
“I guess not. My name is Rey, but my friends like calling me Amo-Rey. I’m a collector of broken hearts as well,” she stated, introducing herself and holding out a hand for the other to shake. Pale hand met dark hand and with a warm, swift shake, the other responded.
“I’m Celes. It’s nice to meet you... Amore,” she said with a sly smile, indicating her play on words. Rey felt her face heat up in response to that as Celes laughed and reached behind her. “I was actually going to give you this in return for your shard. I kind of saw you run by in distress and wanted to help,” the dark woman said as the ginger saw just what was in her hand.
It was a completed heart. Celes was going to give it to her. Rey felt herself tear up again and covered her face.
“Oh no! Did I do something wrong? I’m sorry,” Celes frantically tried to calm her new friend down. Rey just shook her head, speaking through covered fingers.
“I’ve been wondering if I’d ever have my own completed heart. I never thought I would. I give so much of myself, and this is the first it’s ever been returned. I’m so happy right now...” she trailed off, a couple tears escaping and sliding down her cheeks. The other collector felt a smile grace her features as she stepped forward to envelop the other in a hug.
“Of course you’d have your own heart eventually. I’m just glad I could be the one to give it to you,” she said as Rey wrapped her arms around her. The two hugged for a little while before the ginger pulled back to wipe her eyes. Taking a deep breath, blue eyes met brown as words tumbled from pale lips.
“Would you like to grab lunch together, Celes? I’d like to get to know you more.” Dark lips pulled back to reveal white teeth in an even bigger smile than before.
“Of course! I thought you’d never ask. First though, take this. It’s yours, Amore.” With that, the heart was presented again. Rey raised both hands to wrap around the edges and bring the heart-shaped piece of glass up to her chest. The two girls watched as the heart mended and disappeared into Rey’s chest, the light brightening in blue eyes as the happiness, love, and warmth spread through her entire body.
Without a word, the two grabbed each other’s hands and started walking back to campus proper to get the lunch they’d agreed to eat together.
The collector of broken hearts wasn’t alone. The collector of broken hearts finally collected a mended heart to call her own.
The world seemed just that much brighter.