Heartstrung

by Rachel Swirsky

One, two, three, the needle swoops.

Pamela squirms as the needle cuts into her sensitive heart tissue. “It hurts!”

“Shh,” the seamstress says. “It’s almost done, honey. Just a few more stitches and you’ll be like mommy.”

The seamstress bends forward as she presses her needle into her daughter’s heart for another stitch, squinting to make sure she sews tight and even. As she pulls the thread taut, she realizes this stitch marks the midpoint – she’s now halfway finished sewing Pamela’s heart onto her sleeve.