Dina fell in love with the tin man. Joseph didn’t know that she called him that in her head, but she did. She thought it with affection, and with a silent wish that he would someday make it to see the wizard.
Joseph was kind and gentle and charming, and his heart sang out through his bow and strings. It shined through his hands as he created treasures from wood and stone and his imaginings. He loved his dog, and his work. He loved oak trees and the sound of the river, and his cabin in the mountains. He loved the flame he kept alive in his fireplace, and the smell of snow. But his ability to love another person had been stolen like an evil enchantment.
Year by year, it was taken from him as he grew into a man in a home filled with unspeakable horror. His youth had held him hostage. He was tortured with lies and his parents’ demons, and by the time he got free, he had lost his ability to love.
Dina slept in his arms now. She woke to the gentle rhythm of his heart in her ear. She treasured that sound. It had become her favorite song. It was a song of peace and hope, and of home.
Dina laid her hand on Joseph’s heart as he lay sleeping. She and his heart had an understanding. She would honor it, and him. She understood him. She loved him, and as she felt his treasured heart beating, she gently tapped his chest three times and softly whispered, “There’s no place like home...”
Joseph was kind and gentle and charming, and his heart sang out through his bow and strings. It shined through his hands as he created treasures from wood and stone and his imaginings. He loved his dog, and his work. He loved oak trees and the sound of the river, and his cabin in the mountains. He loved the flame he kept alive in his fireplace, and the smell of snow. But his ability to love another person had been stolen like an evil enchantment.
Year by year, it was taken from him as he grew into a man in a home filled with unspeakable horror. His youth had held him hostage. He was tortured with lies and his parents’ demons, and by the time he got free, he had lost his ability to love.
Dina slept in his arms now. She woke to the gentle rhythm of his heart in her ear. She treasured that sound. It had become her favorite song. It was a song of peace and hope, and of home.
Dina laid her hand on Joseph’s heart as he lay sleeping. She and his heart had an understanding. She would honor it, and him. She understood him. She loved him, and as she felt his treasured heart beating, she gently tapped his chest three times and softly whispered, “There’s no place like home...”