Valentiny Contest
Check-out my 2021 submission to the wonderfully inspiring Valentiny Contest! We were challenged to write a Valentine’s Day-themed story featuring bravery, clocking in at no more than 214 words.
Update: I happy to announce I received an Honorable Mention for this story!!
Tilly’s Great-Big Heart
By Amy Flynn
Tilly’s heart was great-big.
She carried it everywhere.
Wrapping her friends in warmth,
protecting them with strength,
sharing it when her friends were lonely.
Yes, Tilly’s heart was great-big, and shared freely until…
One day someone stole her heart and left it bruised, broken, and unbearably heavy.
Now, carrying around her great-big heart seemed dangerous...too dangerous.
So she decided to protect it.
She built a big, strong box and tucked it inside, bolting the box shut.
Padlocks. Ropes. Barbed wire.
It was safe.
No longer bruised.
Or used.
...but now, even heavier.
Because, while her heart was safe…
She was unbearably lonely.
Tilly had a great-big heart and now, she had a great-big decision to make.
Keep her heart locked up?
Or let it out?
Tilly thought and paced.
She researched and talked.
She cried great-big tears.
But finally…
Tilly decided.
She needed her heart with her, even if it was dangerous.
She couldn’t hide it away anymore.
She snipped,
untied and,
unlocked.
She flipped the bolts and opened the box.
But to Tilly’s surprise, her heart was not alone in the box. Nestled beside it was her great, big bravery.
Tilly tucked her heart under one arm, her bravery under the other and danced off to find her friends.