The Message

Fiona had no use for any other human being. She hated everyone. Enormously rich and even more entitled, she considered the "little people" beneath her in every way. She had no problem passing the homeless on the street without a second glance. Children begging for money for something to eat didn't cause the slightest flutter of her heart. Of course, that might have been because Fiona didn't have a real heart.

She had something that resembled the organ needed to keep blood flowing throughout her system. It worked with perfect precision, pumping and beating as any heart was intended. There was just one problem, it had no power to feel. That's because Fiona Shaw's heart was mechanical.

When there were not enough heart donors to fulfill the need for new hearts, scientists got busy and invented a mechanical contraception that thousands of people now referred to as a heart. However, instead of making the lives of those individuals longer and fuller, it achieved just the opposite. People with the new mechanisms were cold, callous, calculating and cruel. In truth they had no heart at all. Fiona was one of them.

Her wealth bought her a seat on dozens of important councils. It opened doors wherever she wanted to go. It allowed her to buy anything and everything she wanted save one thing - - love. Fiona Shaw was not loved and she did not know how to love. At the tender age of 30, more people wished the beautiful blonde dead than any politician, dictator, or sovereign.

It was a cold winter night with the wind whipping through the trees and making eerie banshee-like cries. Fiona tossed and turned in her bed, angry that nature dared to interrupt her sleep. Finally, she arose and floated down her winding staircase to the lowest floor of her mansion. Turning off her alarm and throwing open the door, she shouted into the night, "quiet already!" It was a stupid gesture but one that showed her self-righteous sense of import.

Then a sound behind her made Fiona jump. She turned, half expecting to see that the wind had knocked over one of the expensive vases that lined her marble hallway. Instead, she peered into the eyes of two masked men. Before she had time to think, one grabbed her and put his hand over her mouth. The other used duct tape to secure her hands and feet.

Fiona struggled to scream but couldn't make more than a squeal before tape covered her mouth as well. Her assailant lifted her up like a rag doll and threw her into a nearby chair. While he held her place, the other man taped her down so that she could not move. Once she was secured, they went about putting her valuables into several bags they'd brought along with them. They grabbed anything of value.

As she sat there, it occurred to Fiona that no one would notice if she disappeared. There would be no one to pay any ransom demand. She had no friends or even mere acquaintances that would care that her life was in danger. For the first time in her life, Fiona Shaw felt something she couldn't identify. It gnawed at her mind, traveled down her throat and settled into her belly. At first, she had no idea what it was and then it hit her full force. It was fear!

Her anger subsided and was replaced with it. Fiona didn't like it. She didn't like it one bit. She tried to focus her mind to get back to her ire. That she understood. That she could deal with but fear was something else; something she could not bear.

She need not have worried. As she heard the crashing of furniture and other items on the second floor, Fiona Shaw's fear gave way to something else. For a brief moment, she remembered the cameo she had hidden in the secret compartment of her music box. It was old and worthless to anyone but herself. It was her only link to her life before heart surgery. The cameo had belonged to her grandmother.

Continuing to fight to free herself, Fiona found herself hoping they wouldn't find it. She could replace everything else. Her grandmother's cameo could not be replaced. More than anything she discovered she wanted that tiny item to be safe.

Her mind wandered back to childhood; something she had all but forgotten. She remembered sitting at her grandmother's knee reading a book out loud as the older woman knitted.

She could picture the sweet smile on her grandmother's face. She could feel the brush of her soft lips on her cheek. She pictured the arthritic hands moving slowly but purposefully to complete the sweater she was making for her granddaughter.

For the first time in 10 years, Fiona's mechanical heart skipped a beat. It fluttered as if it had received an electrical jolt. The feeling took Fiona's breath away. Her brown eyes began burning with tears. However, they were not tears of fright. They were tears of regret.

She no longer heard the sounds from above. Fiona was locked in another world. One of loving hugs and sweet kisses; all the things she had once cherished but no longer gave a second thought. When was the last time she had called her grandmother? She could not remember. She knew it had been a long time. They had fought about Fiona's Christmas gift. She had sent her grandmother $1,000 to buy whatever she wanted. She included no card or well wishes; just an impersonal check. In return, her grandmother had sent her a knitted scarf, which she had immediately tossed in the garbage.

That had been nine years ago and the truth was Fiona didn't even know if her grandmother was still alive. The thought that she might not be, caused her heart to flutter once again. Then it tightened, causing her physical pain. She wondered, for a moment, if it would malfunction and kill her where she sat. But it did not.

Still, something felt different inside of Fiona Shaw. She suddenly didn't care about the possessions the robbers were looting. She had just one thought and it ruled her every breath as she continued to struggle to free herself. She wanted, no she needed, to hear her grandmother's voice once again. The thought seemed to give her superhuman strength. Within minutes she managed to tear herself free of the chair. Hopping over to her desk, she pulled the scissors out of the drawer and maneuvered them to cut her hands free. Once loose, she tore at the tape around her feet and ripped tape off her mouth. Without another thought, Fiona Shaw threw herself out the door and started running.

She didn't look back. She didn't care that she was half-dressed. In fact she gave thought to nothing but the sound of her grandmother's voice. She heard it deep inside her head, spurring her on. "I love you, Fiona," it said. "I will always love you!" And for the first time, in a long time, Fiona Shaw felt love too.

She ran down the street and hailed a cab to the police station. Once there she explained her story and asked for their help. Then she asked for permission to use the phone. There was one phone call she had to make right away. She dialed the number with trembling hands and waited with baited breath to hear the soft, gentle voice at the other end.

"Hello," came a somber voice that Fiona did not recognize. "Who's calling please?"

"This is Fiona Shaw. I'm calling for my grandmother, Laura Van. Can I talk to her please?"

"I'm sorry, Ms. Shaw, your grandmother was just taken to the hospital. She had a stroke about an hour ago."

An hour ago. That is when the wind had awakened her and her nightmare had begun. But it is also when Fiona felt the first moments of change.

Grabbing some clothes from the police officers, Fiona headed to the hospital. As she sat beside her grandmother's bed, holding her hand, Fiona whispered three words over and over. She did not stop until the old lady's faded gray eyes opened and looked into her own.

"I love you too, Fiona," her grandmother whispered. "I will always love you!"

Days passed before Fiona got back in touch with the police. She stayed by her grandmother's side until her recovery was certain.

"Ms. Shaw, we have a problem," the police chief told her as she sat across from him.

"What's that officer?"

"We found no evidence of a break-in in your home. As far as we could tell, everything was right where it should be. Even your jewelry was still in the jewelry box by your bed. Your safe was secure. We opened it with the combination you gave us, but nothing appeared to be missing. All we did find to confirm your story was duct tape around a dining room chair and near the desk where you said you cut it off."

"You mean they didn't take anything?" Fiona could not believe her ears.

"Apparently not, but you'll have to go through everything and let us know for certain. Either way, I'd say you are one lucky girl."

Fiona shook her head in agreement, but not for the reasons the officer believed. It was because she finally had a real heart; one that was capable of giving and receiving love. That was the most important treasure of all!