Isabelle Amlicke

November 18, 2016

Taking Hart

Come on, come on, come on I whisper, narrowing my eyes at the little, mortal man
and woman holding hands on the corner of Fifth and Eighth, willing them to take the next step in
their relationship. Gritting my teeth, I pour even more of my love magic into willing them to at
least face each other. Great Zeus! Why is this so hard? I think, yanking knots into my scarf.
Then, I feel a tug.
What in the na --
The thought is left unfinished -- along with my job -- as the soon-to-be couple is yanked
from my grasp. Fingers fumbling, I try to find the string pulling me through the streets of New
York, but theres nothing there. The young lovers in Central Park, the married couples in their
apartments, the teens on their first dates all fly by. I curse. So many opportunities to prove that I
can do the job I was created for, gone with the wind.
Just when I dont think the situation could possibly get more humiliating, I plunge
through a roof somewhere in Brooklyn and into someones bright pink bean bag. The world
stills.
What a way to treat a goddess, I huff and pull myself out of the cheap, polyester
mound, re-adjusting the folds of my chiton as I go. It only takes a few seconds to regain the
grace and perfection Im known for. Time to get back to work. I turn to face the direction from
which I came, but something glints in the moonlight on the bedside table before me. I cock my
head and drift over.
Its a picture of a boy, maybe seventeen or eighteen years old, with dark chocolate hair
and a smile just as sweet. At the bottom, typed onto a strip of white in tiny font, is the name
Jacob Hart. A smile touches my lips. This ones cute, even by my standards, and I can feel that

Im not the only one in the room who thinks so. I glance over at the bed for the first time.
Swaddled in a cotton candy comforter is a girl with her hands clasped above her chest. I tilt my
head and close my eyes, trying to read her heart. Who are you?
Jessica Stewart. No, Ill be Jessie Hart someday. Jessie Annelise Hart... it sighs, a
hopeful lilt to its voice.
Shes in love! I cheer, my eyes flying open. Finally! A romantic! I clasp my hands
over my own heart and beam down at this precious girls elfish features. She shifts, and her pale
eyebrows scrunch together.
Please God, she whispers.
Wrong god, I think with a chuckle. She takes a shaky breath, getting ready to speak again,
and I calm myself down.
Please give me a chance with him. Just one chance before college. Please She trails
off, waves of longing rolling off of her prone form. Soon, her breath slows into a steady rhythm,
and her hands drop to her chest. As her eyebrows smooth into sleep, I reach up to wipe a tear
from my cheek.
Shh it will be alright, dove. It will be alright, I whisper, stroking her hair. What a
sweetie, I think. Bending my head down to hers, I breathe dreams of Jake into her head. She
shifts in her sleep and smiles.
Jessica Hart, her heart sighs.
Dont worry, I whisper. Aphrodite will get you your Jake Hart. Dont you worry.

I wake up with a smile on my face, my dream self still wrapped in Jakes embrace.
Clenching my eyes shut, I wait until the last wisp of the image fades into the darkness of my
mind and sigh.
Back to real life.
With a deep breath, I heave myself out of bed and pad over to the closet. Maybe Ill wear
my Northwestern sweatshirt today, I think, reaching for the purple mound on the closet floor. A
thin line of sky blue catches my eye from the very back of my shirt rack, and my hand changes
direction as if with a mind of its own. It comes back with a dress, the only summer dress I own. I
shrug, yank my pajama shirt up over my head, and slip it on. The lily skirt flares out around my
thighs, turning my stick figure frame into more of a slim hourglass. As I stand there with my
hands on my hips, a small smile creeps onto my face. After slipping on a pair of sandals from the
corner of my room, I scoop up my backpack and dash out of the house, leaving Mom standing in
the foyer, her mouth hanging open. I laugh. This is gonna be a good day.

I cant help but be proud of my work. Jessie looks so good in the outfit I made her pick
out, a million times better than she wouldve in the leggings and t-shirt she was originally going
to wear. I float along beside her as she walks to school, beaming as the eyes of passersby follow
her down the sidewalk.
My Jessie turns heads all day, something I can tell shes not used to by the way she
blushes and looks at her feet with every compliment. To my dismay, when Jake holds open the
door of the Chem lab for her, she purses her lips and hurries in with her head bowed, too worried
about possible rejection to notice that his eyes linger on her longer than most. I grip her arm and
will her to look up from her chipped toenail polish, only to huff in exasperation when Im
rebuffed by the fear swirling in her stomach.

Irritated, I spend the next two periods trying to figure out how to force them to interact.
As Jessie bends over her heart-filled notebook and computer, I perch on the edge of her desk,
sifting through millennia of ideas while I twirl my golden hair round my fingers. Visions of
romantic heroes slaying monsters and sweeping maidens off their feet drift through my head. A
smile breaks across my face, and I drift over to Jake in the back row. With a touch of my finger,
Ive got him planning to follow Jessies normal route home. I look back at Jessicas hunched
form and clap my hands in glee. The bell cant ring soon enough.

The harsh beep of the final bell jolts me out of my daydreams. Slinging my bag over my
shoulder, I follow him out into the sunlight, admiring the way it brings out the copper highlights
in his dark hair. They shimmer and dance with every step he takes. Somewhere back on earth, a
bike bell rings. By the time it reaches me, the rubber handle is digging into my side, flinging me
to the concrete. Pain traces across my exposed foot like fire, white hot fading to a crimson burn.
Someone lifts the bike off of me and hands it back to its rider, then crouches down next to me.
Its Jake, wincing at the sight of blood oozing from the slice on my foot. Hey, Jessie, are you
okay?
He knows my name? My throat constricts, but I somehow manage a small yeah and try
to stand up. Pain shoots through my foot. I gasp. My knees buckle.
Woah! he says, catching me under the arms before I can hit the ground.
Taking deep breaths, I hold onto him as he pulls me to my feet and drapes my arm around
his shoulder. I can feel the pounding of his heart, the heat of his skin. This is a dream. Yep. This
is totally a dream, I say, shaking my head like the idiot I am.
To my surprise, Jake doesnt laugh me, just stares off down the sidewalk and nods.
Yeah. It kinda seems like one. Like a good one. You know? he says, turning his face towards
mine with an adorably hopeful smile. Right?

Yeah, I say, my face breaking out into what is quite possibly the brightest smile Ive
ever smiled at anyone. Its definitely a good one.
And then, Jake Hart walks me home, arm in arm. I get the feeling someones watching
me, but when I look around, all I can see is a porcelain white dove, gazing down at me from a
branch overhead. I can almost swear its smiling.