Heart's Edge Novels & Stories

Again, I hear the tiny thumping of a small heart. A baby.

Reaching in, she found the small bottle and took it out. "It's one, right?" She asked from memory. "Yes." Edward had parked the car on the side of the road, picked up the water glass placed on the dashboard, and Clarice handed him a pill, watching him take it. After taking the pill and resting for a bit, Clarice asked carefully. "Your heart isn't well, is it?" "Congenital, untreatable." A bitter smile crossed Edward's face. "I didn't scare you just now, did I?"

His shirt was torn open, and through the blood and grime, I saw it… a deep, jagged laceration that cut across his chest, dangerously close to his heart. I froze. My world tilted. “No…” I dropped to my knees beside him, hands hovering helplessly over his wound. “No, no, no… Edward, please.” He didn’t respond. His lips were pale, blood at the corner of his mouth. The wolves around us said something, commands, orders, prayers, but I couldn’t hear them. All I could hear was the faint, breaking rhythm of his heartbeat. And the bond… the bond was fading.

I stopped in my tracks, and stared at the covered stage, hoping to see a person on it. The curtains still covered the entirety of the elevated platform, but I could hear silent footsteps behind it. Then, a gentle strum of an electric guitar echoed in the hall. “What…?” I quietly gasped. That was so clean! I could feel goosebumps from every part of my body, and I stood stone in my position, overwhelmed. A gentle chord after chord followed in pursuit, and as I listened closely, it felt like I could discern the emotions behind the played music. Grief, loneliness… anger.

I wasn’t sure I wanted him to stop trying anymore. My heart was beating so hard I was sure he could hear it. I turned my hand over and let our fingers slide together. His grip tightened, not hard, but like he needed something to hold onto. “Ezra…” he whispered. His voice was rough, barely there. He leaned in slowly. So slowly it felt like the whole world slowed down with him. I could see the faint scar on his cheek from some old game, the way his lashes cast small shadows on his skin, the slight tremble in his breath.

"We have an event in our store today, and there will be prizes if you clear customs successfully, how many of you want to participate?" "What activity?" Ingrid asked curiously. "This activity is called Heart-to-Heart, that is, two people have to choose exactly the same picture, contact and answer five times, you can get a commemorative prize, and by the end of the event, the two guests with the most correct answers can also get a mysterious gift." "Sorry, we don't." Edward saw that Sasha was not interested, and he was not interested in this kind of childish game. "Wait, who said no, I need it!"

**On the Edge of Decision** The tension in the room was unbearable. Lillian could hear her heart pounding in her ears, the sound nearly drowning out the voices that were beginning to rise in the small, confined space. The men who had burst into their home, guns drawn, were calm—too calm. The kind of calm that comes with power and the knowledge that they were in control.

"The closeness I want is not just like this," Beatrice smiled faintly. "But... truly close, not only through touch but also in the heart." She brought her hand closer to his chest, where his rhythmic heartbeat indicated that its owner was alive and that every nerve was stimulated by their proximity. "Closeness in the heart as well."

AMORA I quickly walked out of the hall feeling everything close in. The room was suddenly too small, the walls were closing in and everything, everyone and their voices felt like they were going to squash me in.. I was going to suffocate here and die... So I held my chest feeling like that hold would make a difference and finally close the huge gap I felt on my chest. I finally came around the corner and went to sit at a small stone that was there. I didn't care how I looked right now... because how I felt was somehow even getting worse...

"Nice pick, Dr. Clayton." "Please call me Noah." "Being a popular cardiologist at the age of 28.. pretty impressive. What makes you want to be a cardiologist?" I put down my wine glass and put my attention fully to him. "I lost my little sister to heart complications 20 years ago so that made me want to save people who have heart problems." He swirled his wine glass. "I bet she's happy to have a great brother like you. You're saving people now." "How about you? You have a passion for cars." He put down his wine glass and turned to me.