Broken by One, Desired by All
"You need to weld them together. Step three is the forge."
She reached into her collar and pulled out the heavy silver pocket watch… the one my father had kept in the wood-box. My throat tightened at the sight of it; some memories didn't need the ditch or the rain to hurt. She didn't open the face; she just squeezed it until the silver metal melted between her fingers, turning into a bright, liquid gold liquid that dripped onto the ice between us.
"Hold your hands out," she said.
"Mom, that's melted metal," I said, staring at the glowing gold pool. "That's going to burn right through my bones."