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The Boy Who Sold Magical Hearts
by Mary Claire B. Garcia

Once upon a time, when the world was still full of magic, there lived a little boy who sold magical hearts in the marketplace.

“Magical hearts, magical hearts! Replace your heart with a better one!” The little boy called out from his stall.

A big man approached his stall. “Have you got a heart that won’t get angry easily anymore?” the man asked with a commanding voice.

The little boy nodded excitedly and began to search through his piles of small boxes on the ground. “You’re lucky I still haven’t sold it to anyone else, sir! I’ve only got one stock of that type of heart. It’s quite hard to get one like that,” he said and smiled when he found the box he was looking for.

He handed the box to the man. “Warm it up a little before replacing your old heart. We don’t want you getting a cold one, eh? Have a good day, sir!” The boy said cheerfully.

The man looked bewildered. “You’ve forgotten to ask me the payment, little boy. How much is it? My wife and kids would be delighted with this new heart so I’ll pay for it even if the price is high,” the man said.

The little boy shook his head. “Hearts should not be sold with a price. Coming here with your good intentions is payment enough for me,” he smiled.

The man thanked him and went back home happily. A little while later, a beautiful woman came to the little boy’s stall.

“I’d like an extra heart please,” the woman simply said.

The little boy frowned. “I don’t understand. Just an extra? You don’t have a type of heart in mind?” he asked.

“No type. I just need an extra. You see, I’m in love with two men and it’s difficult for me because I only have one heart,” the woman explained.

“I’m sorry but I won’t be able to help you. The human body can only house one heart and if you tried to have two, I’m sure both won’t be able to breathe. Please come again when you just want to change the one you have right now,” the little boy said.

The woman went away looking troubled. The little boy’s next customer was a young lad asking for his broken heart to be fixed.

“I don’t fix hearts, sir. If you don’t want to change it, you can just let it heal in time,” the little boy said.

The young lad nodded glumly and asked, “Where do you even get the hearts you sell?”

“That’s a trade secret,” the little boy replied with a grin.

When it was time to close up, the little boy chuckled to himself, remembering the young lad’s question. I wonder what his reaction would be if I told him that I was just giving away cow’s hearts. Only the person themselves can change their hearts – not little old me, he thought in amusement. Maybe I’ll take up archery in the future. It will be easier to just shoot them to make them fall in love than give them advices about the heart every day. The little boy with the name of Cupid went home thinking about the fickle hearts of humanity.