The woman arrived in front of a small cottage house. The vines were covering the walls giving it some mysterious atmosphere. She heard that the heart seamster lived there and she needed to meet him. She knocked on a wooden door and it opened on its own.
“Come inside”, words came to her ears and as if enchanted she went inside.
A young man in a top hat was sitting in a chair reading a newspaper. She could feel a scholarly air around him. “He can’t be the seamster, right?”, the woman looked around, but she couldn’t spot anyone else.
-Are you Mr. Klein Moretti, the heart seamster?
-I am indeed - the seamster put down the newspaper and stood up. - It’s nice to meet you, miss..?
-I’m Audrey Hall, sir - she extended her hand and greeted him.
Klein could see the bags under her eyes. She was slightly smiling, but her eyes were full of sorrow and sadness.
-Would you like anything to drink? - he instructed Audrey to sit.
-A tea would be ideal.
He went to the kitchen, leaving the woman alone. She heard many great things about Mr. Moretti from her close friend, but she was actually very skeptical about the heart seamster in general. How is it possible to sew a broken heart? Of course, there were records of a mysterious man that helped many people in the past, but Audrey was expecting some wise old man, not a young handsome boy. “He shouldn’t be much older than me. Could he be the legendary heart seamster’s apprentice?”, her thoughts were running around, trying to figure out Klein’s identity.
-I can see you’re not fully trusting me - Klein put two cups of tea on a table and sat in front of a girl. - You don’t need to worry, I am more than capable of sewing your heart.
For some reason, those words gave Audrey the reassurance she needed.
-Are you going to perform a surgery, sir? - the girl started playing with her fingers. She didn’t hear from her friend how exactly the sewing process would look like.
-No, it’s not like that - Klein stood up and went towards a desk. From a shelf he took out two pieces of fabric, paper and a pen. - All you need to do is to write your name here - he handed the paper and the pen to Audrey - and I’ll do the rest.
“Audrey Hall”, the girl wrote and handed the paper back to Klein. He looked at it attentively, folded it and put it on the table. After taking a few sips of the tea, he took the pieces of fabric and started sewing them slowly, a stitch after stitch.
-Miss Audrey, could you tell me your story? - Klein has not taken his eyes from his work, but the girl could see that he was interested in the reason behind her visit.
~~~
The sun was shining right into the woman’s face making her unable to clearly see her face. Audrey was thankful for that. After all, she wouldn’t want her to notice how much she was blushing. She had asked her friend, Glaint, to introduce her to the famous writer, Fors Wall.
Her slightly curly brown hair was falling freely, her pale blue eyes were smiling while looking at Audrey. Words were coming out of her lips that she was unable to take her gaze off them. She was beautiful and elegant, her voice was calming as if she was telling a bedtime story.
It was love at first sight.
~
The next time they met was during a banquet celebrating the 100th anniversary of Loen Kingdom’s independence. As a daughter of a noble family Audrey had to participate and Fors was invited as an important cultural figure. Her books were sold not only in the Kingdom, but all around the world making her the best selling writer of all times. Audrey was glued to Fors the entire time, following her like a little chick following their mother. They were talking the entire banquet, making them closer and closer. She could feel the writer was the only one for her.
~
-This is Xio, my close friend.
Audrey was quick-witted. She could see the little gestures between the two “friends”. The smiles, subtle touches, exchanging glances. She knew the feelings behind their eyes. Love. After all, she knew her eyes were looking exactly the same, when she was looking at Fors.
The girls in front of her were chatting loudly, but Audrey couldn’t hear anything. Her mind was empty and her eyes were reflecting that. A faint smile was present on her face, but not because she was happy. It was ridiculing her, mocking her.
She heard something shattering.
It was her heart.
Her first, short-lived love story came to an end.
~
Glaint was sitting next to Audrey’s bed. Her complexion was looking worse and worse everyday. She was like a living corpse - she lived only because she was living, with no reason to continue doing so.
-Have you heard? About the heart seamster.
This legend was well known in the Kingdom. Apparently the Great King was once heartbroken and had his heart sewed back by the mysterious seamster. But it was only a legend. At least, that’s what Audrey believed. Glaint assured her that it was a true story. That she should go and visit him.
~~~
Klein listened attentively, while making sure every stitch was done properly. He wasn’t in a rush, since sewing a heart wasn’t the easiest thing to do. The story of Audrey’s love was quite childish, impulsive. However, we cannot control who we love. And he knew that very well.
Right before the last stitch Klein stopped and looked at the woman.
-Do you think - he started speaking - you’ll live a better life after having your heart sewed back to one?
This question echoed in her ears. She loved Fors, but she knew that they couldn’t be together. Her loved one already had her own love story and she wasn’t part of it. She should abandon those emotions and support her from afar.
-Yes, my life will be better.
She smiled genuinely, for the first time in a long while. Klein reciprocated the smile and sewed the last stitch.
-I hope that you’re right - he handed the finished work to Audrey. It was a small heart-shaped ornament.
-Is it done? - she wasn’t feeling any different compared to when she came here.
-This place is protected, only after leaving you’ll feel the change.
The woman took the ornament and placed it close to her heart, as if trying to connect them together. She looked at the heart seamster who was still smiling at her, as if he was trying to encourage her to take the step outside. As if he was telling her that it’s alright.
She cried, for the first time in a long while. All the emotions poured out of her. She felt free.
~~~
Klein closed the door and looked at the mirror. He saw his own reflection - mimicking a beautiful smile of the woman that just left. He started searching his pockets until he found an old photography. Two men were portrayed on it - Klein himself and someone he couldn’t yet forget.
~~~
The sun was shining right at her and not even the hat was helping her. A short blond girl was walking right next to her enthusiastically waving her hands while talking about something. Those simple moments were important to Fors, as spending time with Xio was giving her so much inspiration to write, to continue living.
With a corner of her eye she noticed a familiar figure, one she has not seen in a while. After introducing Xio to her, Audrey stopped contacting her. Fors was devastated, as the young noble girl was one of the few true friends she had.
-Miss Audrey, it’s been a while - Fors waved at her and came closer. She had to ask how she was, why she wasn’t replying to her letters.
Audrey looked at both Fors and Xio with her curious eyes.
-I’m sorry, but… who are you?