Fighting Hearts

Chapter 1 (pt. 1)

I am writing this story under the orders of Katherine M. Seward thirteen years after the events I am about to speak of. She wishes the world to hear the Truth because the Truth set her free.
What my readers must know is every heart is unique, no two alike. Some hearts love without ceasing, other hearts only have a certain amount of love in them and soon cannot love anymore, and some hearts love once and never learn to love again. They change colors overtime – they all start off red and some end gold, others black, and others blue. Some say we are born with half a heart and spend our life looking for our other half to complete us. But hearts were made to beat for others; they were made to love. When a heart dies, love dies with it.
This is the story of a gold heart, a red heart, and a black heart.
But always remember: all hearts were red once.
~
Thirteen years ago in a hospital somewhere in South Carolina a young girl awoke and coughed. She blink three times and a blonde haired woman cleared into view.
"Mom...?" The girl coughed again.
The woman's brown eyes widened and she darted to her side. "Katherine...DOCTOR!"
Almost immediately a middle aged doctor ran inside the room with four nurses at his heels.
"The girl is awake."
The doctor examined the girl intently, checking her pulse and eyesight.
"Now Katherine," he said taking a slow breath, "tell me what you remember about the other night."
The woman's eyes fixed on Katherine anxiously.
Katherine closed her eyes and tried to picture something - anything. What had happened? Why was she here? Who was this woman, her mom? Had she fallen from a tree or off her bike? Or did she not climb trees anymore...how old was she? Who was she? Terror struck her. What did she look like? How could someone forget their appearance? The one thing they looked at every morning? How many mornings had she seen?
Katherine opened her eyes, "I need a mirror, please."
The four nurses each held one up for her.
Katherine gazed into them curiously. She had soft brown eyes and wavy hair of the same color. Her eyebrows were darker than her hair and her mouth sat gently on her set chin. Her nose was slightly sharp and she had a sprinkle of freckles on it. She looked unnaturally pale, too. But most terrible of all, she didn't recognize the face staring back at her. It was as if the mirrors had no glass and she was meeting a set of quadruplets for the first time.
"Katherine, honey, say something." The woman broke in, beginning to panic.
She turned away from the mirrors and shook her head, "What is my last name? Are you my mom?"
The doctor buried his head in his hands and Jamie's eyes filled with tears.
"Seward." She spit out. "It's Seward. You're fourteen years old. I am an old family friend. My name is Jamie. Your mother...disappeared the night I found you knocked out on my driveway."

TO BE CONTINUED...