Heart's Most Desire

In today's story, Heart's Most Desire, Mary shops for the perfect gift for her niece

Today's prompt was suggested by my friend Gretchen Schutte. While this story did not wander into the world of yoga, Gretchen is a fabulous yoga and meditation teacher. You can visit her website at PeaceinthePause.com! 

As always, the story was written from the prompt, with no planning and very little editing. If you enjoy today's story, please share it with your friends and leave a review for Freely Written. Thank you!


More about Susan Quilty

Susan Quilty mainly writes novels, including two standalone novels and her current YA series: The Psychic Traveler Society.  Susan's short stories for Freely Written are created during quick writing breaks and shared as a way to practice her narration skills before she dives into recording audio versions of her novels.

Website:  SusanQuilty.com
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Transcript

Below is the transcript for Season 1, Episode 96 of Freely Written, a podcast by author Susan Quilty:

Welcome to Freely Written where a simple prompt leads to a little unplanned fiction. 

[Light piano music]

Hi, friends! I’m Susan Quilty and today’s prompt is Heart’s Most Desire. 

Today’s prompt was offered by my friend, Gretchen Schutte. I love this suggestion because I can easily see it sending my writing in many different directions. That usually makes for a good story, though it can be a little challenging to have a lot of ideas clamoring to be heard. 

Maybe that’s fitting for a prompt from Gretchen because she’s a very experienced yoga and meditation teacher, so she knows quite a bit about clamoring ideas and how to quiet them down! You can learn more about Gretchen’s meditation and yoga classes on her website PeaceinthePause.com, and I’ll add a link in the show notes.

As always, I’m following my Freely Written process, which is to sit down with today’s prompt and write whatever comes to mind, with no planning and very little editing. Once the story is finished, I then record it, and share it with you.

Let’s see what kind of story came up today:

Heart’s Most Desire

As Mary browsed the store, her brow became more furrowed. She chewed one side of her lip, silently studying the shelves, and tilted her head to the opposite side. 

The items on the shelves looked like books, but Mary knew they were not. They were shaped like books, and they had words written on what would have been their spines if they were books, but they were not. They were boxes. Sealed boxes. 

The fronts and backs of the boxes were like book covers. Pictures and titles on the fronts, brief descriptions on the backs. The remaining side—the place where the page ends would show if they were books—displayed a series of complicated symbols that meant nothing to a human reader and a lot to a Wowza Device.

Unlike most of her friends, Mary did not own a Wowza Device or have her own Wowza Port. She had seen the devices, of course, and heard vivid descriptions of many experiences. It was impossible not to when someone inevitably pulled one out at a birthday party or family gathering. 

If she were fully honesty, Mary was half-tempted by some of the Wowza Device trailers she’d seen. Particularly by the simple experiences, like a scenic train ride through the mountains or strolling through the world’s most famous museums.  

But Mary wasn’t at the shop for herself. She was looking for a gift for her niece. 

Sophia was turning fourteen and her parents—Mary’s sister and brother-in-law—were having her Wowza Port installed. 

It was the custom for most fourteen-year-olds now. Most people didn’t even call it a 14th birthday anymore. They called it a person’s Wowza Day, the day when they were legally old enough to get their Port and plug into a Wowza Device.

Mary didn’t like it. She fondly remembered when a Sweet Sixteen was an important birthday tradition, but this…? 

The doctors claimed the age-rating was in line with healthy brain development, but Mary didn’t believe them. A Wowza Port connected directly to a person’s brain, for goodness’ sake! How could that be safe for a child? 

Not that anyone, including her sister, listened to Mary’s opinion. Her sister and brother-in-law would take Sophia to get the port in the morning and have her birthday party—or Wowza Day party—in the afternoon. The cake and decorations would all be Wowza-themed and all of the guests would bring Wowza experiences as gifts. 

If Mary didn’t want to be left out, she would have to button up her concerns and bring Sophia a Wowza experience like everyone else. 

So, Mary browsed the store, squinting at boxes and wondering which experience was right for the niece she loved so much. 

“Can I help you find something?” 

The salesman glided up to Mary with gleaming eyes and a toothy smile. He wore tan slacks with a forest green collared shirt and a nametag that identified him as George. 

Mary pursed her lips and let her eyes drift around the store. She didn’t want George’s help, since she didn’t want to be buying anything, but she had to buy something so she couldn’t send him away. 

“Something for yourself or a gift?” George asked pleasantly, despite Mary’s quick glare.

“I don’t have a Port,” she told him uneasily.

“Oh, well we offer Port installation here. Just a quick procedure, faster than you’d expect and not a bit of pain.”

“I don’t need one of those things in my head,” Mary snapped, then frowned nervously, worried that she had been rude. 

“For a gift then?” George asked, smoothly shifting gears. “For a friend? A family member? Someone’s Wowza day, perhaps?”

“My niece,” Mary admitted stiffly, bracing for George’s congratulations on her niece’s big day. Instead, George simply nodded, which made Mary resent him just a bit less. 

“Have you looked in our Heart’s Most Desire section?” 

George’s thoughtful question confused Mary. 

“Your what?” 

She gamely looked around the store, thinking she would have noticed something like that. The shelves were all marked with more reasonable categories, like Action/Adventures, Thrills and Chills, World Travel, or Romance.

Mary frowned at the romance section, hoping the more mature experiences were kept from innocent young minds. 

“It’s a rather new section,” George explained, leading Mary toward the back of the store. “We only have a small selection for now, but I’m sure the category will grow.”

They stopped in front of a shelf to the right of the check-out counter. A sign in blue letters, just like the other category signs, read Heart’s Most Desire. The shelf was only half-full and its boxes showed the names of various well-known people. 

“They’re a bit of a surprise,” George told Mary as he rocked on his heels. “With most experiences, you know just what you are getting. With these… well, you don’t know until you experience it for yourself.”

“I don’t understand,” Mary admitted. Her eyes drifted along the shelf, picking out names she recognized. There were actors, singers, writers, politicians… Several names seemed familiar, though she couldn’t place them. Some meant nothing to her.

Partway through her scan, she turned to face George, waiting for a better explanation.

“Well, you see,” George began slowly, “most people think they know what they want out of life. Money, love, fame, and all that. But that’s not always right. Sometimes, people get all of those things and find they still aren’t satisfied.”

Mary nodded, becoming more intrigued as George continued.

“It’s easier for famous people to notice because they have the things they thought they wanted, while the rest of us are still wrapped up in chasing those dreams. But, anyway, for some of those people, a day comes along when something happens that makes them truly happy. Happier than they ever thought they would be.”

“Their heart’s most desire,” Mary said in wonder, her eyes taking in the sign again.

“Yes,” George agreed. “They experience their heart’s most desire and it often catches them off guard because they didn’t see how important it was until they had it.”

“So, these experiences are their heart’s most desire?” Mary considered that, then asked, “But they’re a surprise because you don’t say what it is on the box?” 

“Exactly,” George said with a smile. “You pick a famous person you like, maybe guess what you think their heart’s most desire will be, then plug in to experience the answer for yourself. It’s great fun at parties!”

Mary picked up a box, looking at the pensive face of an actor she knew from several old movies.

“And people don’t tell the answer, after they see it?” Mary asked, returning the box to the shelf.

“Well, some do,” George admitted. “Just like with any secret in a book or movie. Spoilers, you know. But most people, decent people, are pretty good about letting it be a secret until others experience it themselves.”

Mary thought about that. It was an interesting idea for a gift, especially one that Sophia would open at her birthday party. And there might be a lesson in it, about what really matters in life. Unless the experience turned out to be something dangerous or immoral or…

“Are these rated for different ages?” Mary asked quickly, cutting off her own worries. 

“Oh, yes, ma’am,” George assured. “Like all experiences, there’s an age rating on the back of the box. Of course, that depends on your own family, but it’s a good guideline.” 

Mary hesitated. She nearly left the Heart’s Most Desire shelf to look for a simple experience of Niagra Falls or a hot air balloon ride. Then she caught sight of a pink box with the name of Sophia’s favorite singer, who happened to be a singer Mary like, too. They’d even gone to her concert together the previous summer. 

 As Mary reached for the box, George said, “Oh, good choice! That’s a new one. Just came out this week. And her heart’s most desire… Well, I won’t ruin the surprise.”

“But you’ve seen it?” Mary asked. “And it’s suitable for a fourteen-year-old girl?”

“Oh, yes,” George promised. “Quite proper. A lovely message even.”

Mary studied the box and felt certain it was the right choice. 

“You can enjoy it together,” George said as they walked to the counter. He then looked up sharply and apologized, then said, “She can tell you about it.”

The singer on the pink box smiled up at Mary, reminding her of the fun she and Sophia had shared at the summer concert. She could still feel the heat in the air, the crush of the crowd, and the promising lilt of the young singer’s voice. She could see the excitement in Sophia’s eyes when they sang along together. 

Mary had loved sharing that moment with her niece. She loved how Sophia had opened her up to a singer she would have never discovered on her own. 

Looking around the store, she saw the Wowza experiences in a new light. 

Turning back to George, it felt right when Mary asked, “How much for a Port installation?” 

The End

Thanks for joining me today. If you liked that story, please share it with your friends, and leave a review for Freely Written wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also connect with me on social media or through my website: SusanQuilty.com Links are in the show notes.

Until next time, try a little free writing of your own. Let go of any planning and see where your imagination takes you. 

[Light piano music]