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    The lover's heart

Once upon a time there was a little girl who wanted to know how the world outside the walls of her village was. She was keen to see new horizons, and mostly desired to see the Big City. She had heard incredible stories about it, and her imagination ran wild fancying how interesting and thrilling living in the Big City must be. She had dreamt and dreamt, waited and hoped, and finally one day she packed her bag, waved goodbye to all of her friends and left for her long longed journey.

The day she left was a sunny one, with a soft breeze cooling the hotness of the weather. The grass was shining under the bright rays of the midday sun, and the branches of the trees waved at her passage, whishing her a good and safe trip to the Big City.

She walked and walked and walked. She went up mild hills, across chattering rivers, through vast plains. With her sack on her shoulders and a radiant smile on her lips, she arrived at the edge of the Big City at last. She crossed the boundary both joyful and trembling, with her eyes wide open ready to capture every single thing, and began her curious exploration.

She really did see the most incredible things, things she had never ever imagined could exist. Giants made of steel, dark and deep holes from where strange sounds could be heard, colourful writings and pictures, lights turning on and off, and then thousands of faces, legs and hands running everywhere, voices shouting, talking, whispering. She looked enchanted at the figures designed by arms moving in the air, at the rivers of words flying in the wind, at the waves and tides of invisible vibrations passing from one person to the other.

She was dazzled by the constant hustle and bustle, by the fretfulness with which people met and talked. The inhabitants of the Big City behaved as there was always some other place to be, something other to say, look for, or do. Hurrying here and there, they constantly bumped into each other without ever really caring for the other person. The little girl thought they were strange beings.

She thought of her small village and the friendliness with which everybody greeted her, the long talks sitting in backyard porches sipping lemonade or tea, the smiles and gentle inquires about her life. She didn’t miss it, and she still hadn’t decided whether she liked the Big City or not. Too less time had passed since her arrival there.

One day she was passing on a bridge over the Long River. She was looking at a green and blue boat sailing towards distant shores – or so the little girl liked to think – and didn’t see a peculiar figure that was running towards her. That figure didn’t see the little girl either as was anxiously looking all around her but at the girl. They so happened to bump into each other.

"I’m terribly, terribly sorry!" said the mysterious figure. It was all black and had a big and rounded head, and thin and long arms and legs.

The little girl was still a bit dazzled because of the unexpected crash, and was trying to figure out who that odd figure was. She mutely stared at it for a while and then she realised.

A word! But could it really be? She scrutinized the figure more attentively: the head was an O, the trunk was an E, her irregular arms were a made of an L and the legs were an upturned V. There could be no doubt, it was a word.

"Are you all right?", asked the word.

"Yes, I am. Thank you.", answered the girl. "And you?" "Yes… no… I mean…", the word seemed unable to finish the sentence. Small tears began to sprout from her eyes.

"What’s wrong? Is there something I can do for you?", asked the little girl, seriously worried for that sudden expression of despair forming on the word’s face.

Just a little encouraging questions like the ones asked by the little girl were sufficient for the word to begin telling her story. She was a lost word. She had travelled a long way – she came from a distant country too, just like the little girl – and was carrying an important message, but just when she thought she was finally coming to her destination she got lost in the labyrinth of roads of the Big City.

The little girl listened to the word’s story with great curiosity and concern. This was a very serious problem and the message had to arrive to destination! She tried to reassure the poor and sad word, and said that it was with great pleasure that she would help her find her way.

"The first thing we need to know is where you have to carry your message, and then we can start looking for the right direction", said the resourceful little girl.

"I have to find a lover’s heart", said the word.

"But how can we find it? This is an enormous city, full of people running everywhere!"

"As soon as I hear its beating I will recognize it. Every heart has its own beating, like the rhythm of a song. Every word belongs to a heart, and every heart waits for its word to come. Unfortunately, I can’t hear it with all this confusion."

"How do you know that the heart you’re looking for lives here in the Big City?"

"The day I was born I clearly heard its beating. The wind had brought me its sound, and it was coming from here. But as time went by the sound became feebler and feebler, and now I can’t here it anymore. Too many sounds, too much confusion, and too many beatings all at once."

The little girl thought about what the word had told her for a while. Then she took the word’s hand and said:

"I promise you we will find your lover’s heart."

They walked together through big and narrow streets, passed high and long bridges, rested in beautiful squares sitting on stone benches under the shadows of wistful trees. They heard the stories of the branches and the leaves, their longing for the blue sky and wide landscapes, the stories of birds taking a break from flying over the city, the stories of stones stomped by uncaring feet.

Stories of joy and yearnings, sadness and disappointments, hope and bitterness. They carefully listened to every single sound of the city and to hundreds of heart beatings. But still no clue of the lover’s heart.

"Don’t worry, dear word, we’ll find the lover and his heart", said the little girl to her newfound friend.
The word started crying again, she had been looking for her heart all day long and still hadn’t found it. She was losing her faith, not even the kindness and optimism of the little girl were able to reassure her. Moreover, night was coming and swollen clouds threatened rain.

Plonk
Plonk

The first drops of rain fell on the ground, melting with the word’s tears. A small river of water formed on the paved road.

"What are we going to do now?", the desperate word asked the little girl.

"Just let me take out of my bag…", the little girl searched into her bag and came out with a big orange umbrella.

"See? We won’t get soaked with this!", and pointed her umbrella towards the sky.

She opened it and took the desperate word by the hand. The little girl was still confident to find the lover’s heart and some rain won’t make her desist from going on with their search.

Plonk. Plonk
Plonk. Plonk.

The raindrops falling on the umbrella created a sweet music. The little girl paused for a moment, captured by its rhythm. Then she had an idea.

"You said every heart has its own beating and that as soon as you hear it you will recognize your heart.", said the little girl.

"That’s right", replied the word.

"Can you hear the music of the rain falling on this umbrella?"

"Yes, I can. But…"

"Music is everywhere. Maybe the heart you’re looking for is feeling just as desperate as you, but I’m sure it’s still beating. Otherwise the lover would be dead."

"Dead? Oh no! I’m sure the lover still lives!"

"Listen to me. Night is coming and the Big City is going to sleep. Silence will help you find and hear your heart’s beating. Try to concentrate on the rhythm. The heart is calling to you. Call to it back, the heart will hear you."

The word closed her eyes, trying to focus on the sound of the heartbeats. A frown formed oh her face, and little wrinkles circled her eyes. The word concentrated harder and harder, thinking intensively of the heart she was seeking.

Silence was embracing the Big City, even the rain started to fall more softly, as to facilitate the tough task of the word. The little girl took the word’s hand and held it tight, supporting her friend.

"I can hear it! I can hear it! I have found my heart!", the word suddenly exclaimed.

The word hugged the little girl, overjoyed to have eventually found the lover’s heart.

"Where shall we go now?", asked the little girl.

"We have to go that way", answered the word, pointing with her forefinger straight ahead.

They walked together under the orange umbrella, uncaring of the rain and the dark. The word now felt more secure and self confident: she could hear the music of the heartbeats, she was accomplishing her mission, she would reach the lover and make him happy.

They walked for about half an hour, passing through many unknown streets, following the magical rhythm of the heartbeats. Finally, they arrived in front of a nice old house, at number 9 River Road. The house had two floors and a stony façade, and there were two bow windows at its sides. It had an iron gate and a few steps led to the front door, that was painted in red. The little girl and the word observed for a brief moment the house, then the word took a deep breath and walked towards the door and knocked on it. A handsome middle aged man opened it.

As soon as the word saw the man she delivered her message.

"I love you", she whispered to the man’s heart.

The man looked around, astonished, for he had believed to hear a voice speaking. His heart was beating fast, revived and elated, and he was feeling surprisingly happy. He thought of her beloved wife, who was far away from him for work. He hadn’t seen her for 4 months and missed her very much.

He looked at the sky, then whispered in return: "I love you too".

The little girl had hidden behind the wall and had looked at the scene from some distance. She saw the word bringing her message of love, then vanishing in the air, and the smile forming on the man’s lips.

The little girl smiled too. It was time to go back home, back to the people she loved. She had seen enough of the Big City.

 

INFO AUTHOR

Scritto da Marta F., 2008

 

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