Queen of Hearts
Once upon a time, there lived a young, plain and simple girl named Suzanne. Her family loved her dearly and told her frequently that she would accomplish great things. But Suzanne felt she had no gifts, no talent, and no passion in her heart. She lived each day and loved those around her, but resigned herself to leading a plain and simple life.
Suzanne had a dear best friend named John. John and Suzanne had been neighbors and best friends since they were in diapers, crawling around each other’s living room and getting into trouble. Their mothers were also good friends, so Suzanne and John would get hours of uninterrupted exploration time each day as their mothers chit chatted while sipping their eight daily cups of coffee. During these hours of discovery, John and Suzanne attempted to learn every inch of their city neighborhood–the people, the animals, the yards, the shops, the gardens–everything. Everyone in the neighborhood knew them and left them to their exploration. After all, they never caused any real trouble. They were just two children out experiencing life’s education.
Yet, there was one house in their neighborhood that Suzanne and John were too terrified to explore. They had heard their mothers talk about the old woman who lived there, and while they loved a good mystery, this woman sounded like evil itself. Ms. Lila Caufield was not to be disturbed. While no one really had any dealings with Ms. Caufield, there were plenty of stories circulating about her lack of enjoyment of life. The children suspected that she may very well cast a pox on them if they ever messed with her or her property.
One summer day, when the children were eight and a half years old, they returned to John’s house after their explorations and found a box on the front porch. Unlike most packages delivered to the house, it was addressed to them! They didn’t have to think for a second; they just ripped open that box faster then their moms could yell, “Where have you two been?” Just a book was inside. On closer look, it seemed to not only be just a book, but a boring book. It was old and dusty, really thick, and had tattered edges on the pages. There weren’t even any pictures! They tossed the book back in the box and went inside to break up the coffee, chit chat time and ask their mothers about dinner.
Later that night, after her family was all in bed, Suzanne suddenly found herself extremely curious about where the book had come from. Who sent it? Why did they send it? What did it mean? Was it some sort of secret message? Or, was there a secret message in the book? Suzanne couldn’t wait until morning, so she decided to sneak back over to John’s house to further investigate the book. She climbed out her window, down the trellis, and tiptoed secretly over to John’s porch. But the box was gone.
All of the lights were out at John’s house, but Suzanne thought she saw a sliver of light from John’s room. She figured he must have his reading light on, and she tiptoed off the porch and over to his window. It was open, so she whispered loudly, “John! John! Let me in!” as she had done dozens of times before. He didn’t come. “John! John! Come on! Let me in! I can’t get any louder. Please let me in.”
John stumbled over to the window and pulled up the screen. “Suzanne, I’m so glad you’re here. There’s something wrong with that book.”
“What do you mean there’s something wrong with that book?” Suzanne asked, curious but a little worried.
“Well, I got curious about who sent the book and why they sent it to us, so I decided to read it to see if there was a secret message or something.”
“That’s what I was wondering too!” Suzanne said excitedly.
“But, when I got to the tenth page, I felt something pierce my heart.” John moaned.
“Ha! You almost got me there, John. Don’t do that to me. I was almost scared. You’re ridiculous.”
John continued, “No, Suzanne, I’m serious. Something’s terribly wrong.”
“Don’t be so dramatic. You found something in the book–something cool–and you want to keep it all to yourself. That’s not fair! It was addressed to both of us. Let me see the book!” Suzanne exclaimed.
“Absolutely not!” John screamed, then realizing he might wake his parents whispered, “I am totally serious. Something is very wrong. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know who sent that package or why, but you can’t look at the book. I don’t want anything to happen to you too.”
With that, John’s face suddenly paled, and he collapsed before her. She screamed, and his parents came running.
John’s dad called 911 while Suzanne and his mom sobbed. Although he was breathing, they had no idea what was wrong. Suzanne could not tell them about the book. She knew the book did this, and that John hadn’t been lying. But, she also knew that their parents wouldn’t understand. As the ambulance rushed John to the hospital, Suzanne and her parents, who had arrived when they heard the sirens, returned home to wait for news.
They waited and waited and waited. It was not until dawn before they heard anything. John’s dad called to give them an update. The doctors had run a whole battery of tests, which primarily came back normal. But John was getting worse, quickly. His breathing was becoming labored, so they ordered a chest CT. They could not believe what they saw–a wooden splinter in his heart. No one had any idea how it got there or how long it had been there, but there was nothing they could do about it. The doctors did not have a good prognosis.
Hearing this, Suzanne became overwhelmed with fear, but acted composed, as to not alarm her parents, and started to develop a plan. She had to see the book, but she knew she shouldn’t open it. There had to be some kind of clue about who sent it. And if she could figure that out, she may be able to save John. She told her parents she needed to go on a walk to think. They knew how devastated she must be, so they let her go.
As soon as Suzanne got outside, she ran over to John’s house and snuck in through the window. No one had closed it after the previous night’s fiasco. She found the book immediately. It was on John’s bed. In fact, his book light was still on. The box addressed to Suzanne and John was poking out from under the bed. Suzanne grabbed both and started to examine them.
The book was titled Queen of Hearts. They had flipped through it a bit on the porch the day before, so Suzanne tried and tried to remember what they saw. They expected to find a story about a card game or something, but parts of the writing were complete gibberish. She wanted to open the book again, but knew she would be no help to John if she got a splinter in her heart as well. She had to figure out this mystery without opening the book.
Suzanne examined the outside of the book as closely as she could but could find no clues. Putting down the book, she started examining the box. Inside she found a petal of a strange blue-green flower. She didn’t know what kind of flower it was, but she knew exactly where it came from. She had only seen that color flower one place in her life–Lila Caufield’s front yard. She remembered that they had just started blooming the previous week. She thought, “I should have known that evil witch was behind all of this! Why didn’t I think of that to begin with?”
Suzanne felt trapped. She knew she needed to confront Ms. Caufield, but she was too afraid of what might happen. Suzanne and John had always believed their mothers and stayed out of Ms. Caufield’s lawn, but Suzanne had no idea that she was capable of something like this. It was worse than she thought, but at least she now had a clue.
Suzanne squeezed back through the window, thinking about what to do next. She thought about all of the horrible consequences of approaching Ms. Caufield, but then she thought about losing John. She decided that would be worse than anything Ms. Caufield could do to her. Timidly, she walked over to Ms. Caufield’s place.
As she walked up the long, winding path to Ms. Caufield’s door, Suzanne whispered to herself, “Please don’t kill me. Please don’t kill me. Please don’t kill me.” At last she reached the door. She quickly rang the bell, before she lost her nerve. It was too late to go back now. Besides, there was no way she’d get back to the street before Ms. Caufield got to the door. She was doomed to whatever was about to happen.
Ms. Caufield opened the door to the small window at the top of the front door and peered at Suzanne. “What do you want?” she bellowed. “I thought you knew better than to come bother this cranky old lady.”
Suzanne started to sputter something, but no words came out.
“Well, what? Have you forgotten where you are? Have you lost your mind, little girl?” Ms. Caufield continued to bellow.
Suzanne was terrified, but a picture of John dying in that hospital bed popped into her mind, and suddenly her voice returned. “You evil witch! You tried to kill my friend! Undo it! Undo it! Take me instead!” Suzanne was surprised at her own language. She hadn’t really meant to be that direct, or offer herself.
“What are you talking about, crazy girl?” Ms. Caufield asked, with a hint of concern in her voice.
“Why did you send that box? Why do you want to kill us? What did we ever do to you? We’ve always left you alone to live your stupid, miserable life!” Once again, Suzanne was a bit surprised at her own directness. She stopped, terrified that Ms. Caufield would eviscerate her on the spot.
Ms. Caufield was truly concerned now, and she opened the door and came out on the porch. More softly, she asked, “What are you talking about? What box? What was in the box?”
“You know what was in the box! You sent it! That stupid book that is killing my friend. I know it was you, so don’t play stupid! You left behind a bit of your stupid blue-green flower. You’re the only one in the neighborhood that has those ugly things.”
Ms. Caufield sank down awkwardly and loudly in her open doorway. “Oh, dear. Oh, dear. It happened again. I thought if I just lived a quiet life and didn’t bother anyone, it would never happen again. It’s all my fault. It’s all my fault.”
“Of course it’s your fault! You left that awful package for us. What did we ever do to you anyways?”
“No, child. I didn’t leave the box. But, I know exactly what box and book you’re talking about. My best friend and I once received that package, and it almost killed me. It’s been 60 years now. I hoped I’d never hear about that book again. Is she still using the same book? Queen of Hearts?”
Suzanne was stunned–and speechless. She began sputtering again–not even knowing where to begin. She had so many questions. After a few seconds she determined the most important, “How were you healed?”
“The healing is in the book, my dear. The healing is in the book.”
“How?” Suzanne screamed.
“I can’t talk anymore. She might come after me. Trust me, though. The healing is in the book–page 76. Now go. We must never be seen together again.” And with that, Ms. Caufield went back inside, shut, and bolted her door.
Suzanne ran back to John’s house to get the book. She started to open the book but panicked. What if this was all a trick? What if Ms. Caufield just told her to look at page 76 to complete her evil plan? Now she really didn’t know what to do. She kept trying to think of who else could have sent the book, and, more importantly, why they would have wanted to send it. She couldn’t think of anyone else that would want to do this to them. And then it occurred to Suzanne that Ms. Caufield never called her by name. She wasn’t sure Ms. Caufield even knew her name. She realized it couldn’t have been her. She grabbed the book and began searching for page 76, careful not to open to page 10, as that was the page John had said had hurt him. So much of the book was gibberish. She had no idea how she would understand the clue once she found it, but she had to try.
When she finally reached page 76, she was perplexed. She saw just two bold words centered on the page: The Healer. “The Healer?” she said out loud. “How does that possibly help me?”
“You are the Healer,” declared the book.
Suzanne shrieked and threw the book across the room. “Yikes! I’ve not only got a friend in the hospital because a book that some unknown evil person sent is trying to kill him, but now the book is talking to me! What next? Singing rats?” She took a few moments to catch her breath. She was terrified, but she knew exactly what she needed to do. She walked across the room and picked up the book again. Opening it back up to page 76, she started asking questions.
“I know this is ridiculous. I’m talking to a book. But you’re my only hope. So, here goes. Who sent you?”
“You know I can’t answer that,” replied the book.
“Ok. I didn’t think so, but it was worth a shot. How am I the Healer? What do I need to do?”
“Child, you were chosen before you were born. There is great pain in this world, and you will be the one to help heal the pain,” said the book.
“What?”
“Don’t fight this. The sooner you accept your role, the sooner you can save your friend,” warned the book.
“Ok. So, first I save my friend, then I save the world, right?” Suzanne asked, annoyed.
“Yes. Healing your friend is the test.”
“But how?” Suzanne asked, getting less and less patient.
“If only it were that easy. This is your journey, your path. You must find it yourself. But, know that you are the Healer. Look for the clues–for the signs, and you will save your friend.” Then the book shut itself and sealed its pages. Suzanne cried in frustration.
After a few minutes, Suzanne heard her mother calling her name. She crawled out through the window and went around the house so it looked like she had come up the sidewalk. But, her mom wasn’t her mom. The woman looked like her mom, but was dressed in clothes that looked like Cinderella’s fairy godmother.
“We must hurry,” said the woman.
“Where are we going?” asked Suzanne.
“Fewer questions. More observation,” replied the woman.
They walked around the corner and were no longer in Suzanne’s neighborhood. As a matter of fact, Suzanne wasn’t sure they were in her world anymore. It looked like a cartoon. Everything was bright–too bright–and colorful, and all of the people were rolly and jolly. “What on earth am I supposed to be observing?” she wondered.
“Look for clues,” the woman responded to her thoughts.
Suzanne jumped from panicked to positively terrified. But, she pushed forward, hoping that there would be answers that would save John. She wasn’t sure how much time she had. She wasn’t even sure how to get back. Oh, no! What if this was a trap?
“It’s not a trap. Follow me,” the woman responded again.
“Stop doing that!” Suzanne screamed.
“We’re almost there,” responded the woman.
“Where?”
“There,” pointed the woman. And in front of them was a large castle, bustling with activity.
“And what is this?” asked Suzanne.
“This is your castle, my lady. Didn’t the book tell you? You are the Queen of Hearts.”
“What! Take me back! Take me home! I need to save my friend,” screamed Suzanne.
“This is how you will save your friend. Trust me. Come in.”
They entered the huge front hall of the castle and were greeted by a very old, very sickly woman. “Hello, Suzanne. Welcome to my, I mean your, castle.”
“Someone has some explaining to do,” said Suzanne, very agitated.
“There will be time for that later,” the old woman responded. “I see you got my package.”
“You sent that package? Who are you? Why do you want to kill us?” Suzanne asked impatiently.
“I’m not trying to kill you, my dear. I’m trying to save the world. I’m getting old and am about to die. I needed to present my replacement, and you are next in line,” she explained.
“In line for what?”
“In line for Queen–Queen of Hearts. It is your destiny to heal hearts–those broken by both physical and emotional pain. It is your role to find those with broken hearts and lead them to healers in the other world,” the woman continued.
“The other world? What do you mean? What about John? Who will heal him? The doctors say they can’t,” Suzanne exclaimed.
“You will save John. By accepting this role, the splinter will disintegrate, and John will be healed.”
“But will I see him again?” Suzanne asked wearily.
“Yes. You will watch over him for as long as you live.”
“But will he see me?”
“No. It is the price you pay for accepting your destiny as Healer and saving lives. I had to accept this price almost 60 years ago. I never saw my best friend, Lila, again. But, I know she is alive and well. I watch over her every day. I sent you to her, to remind her of my love for her–that I am here, watching over her. You will do the same for John.”
“No, I won’t. You will heal him, and I will go back home,” Suzanne asserted.
“That’s not the way it works. You can only heal him by agreeing to heal others. It is your gift.”
“It sounds more like a curse to me,” said Suzanne bitterly.
“You may think that now, but you will change, over time.” The woman paused for a moment, then continued, “So, will you accept your destiny?”
“If it will save John, then yes. I will accept my destiny.”
The woman led Suzanne into the watch room, where she could see hundreds of screens watching over hundreds of people’s lives–seeing who needed their paths directed to healers. In one of those screens, she saw John. At that moment, he awoke, and his parents cried and hugged him. Suzanne, with tears streaming down her cheeks, watched as the doctors did another CT scan and found that the splinter was no longer there. She continued to watch as he went home. Then she sobbed as he watched for her to come check on him through his window.
“I’m here, John,” she said. “I’m just looking through another window.”
At that moment, he looked through the window, directly into her eyes and said, “I knew it was you. I knew it was you. Thank you for healing me. I will miss you, my friend. I will miss you.”
“Please check on Ms. Caufield, John,” she responded, not knowing if he could actually hear or sense her.
As days passed on, Suzanne warmed to her role and, after a time, the old woman died. Suzanne missed her old life, but she knew what an important destiny this current path was–not only for her, but for those she would heal. She continued to watch John, and he did go visit Ms. Caufield. He listened as Ms. Caufield told him about when her best friend left to save her. She explained how she still feels her best friend in her heart but has had such longing and sadness–until John came into her life. Within weeks, they had become fast friends.
Eventually, John grew up and become a cardiologist himself–so he could be one of Suzanne’s healers. While not the life they had planned, they did live happily ever after…
THE END
