100 - 16 September to 22 September 2007

18 September - Heartsong

Nesta gathered hearts. They came to her as little balls of shimmering yellow light, surrounded by an aura of gilded colours, riding on the winds of change and anticipation. They’d hover above her cauldron, drawn to the lucent liquid that filled it: consecrated water, rosehip, and the beat of his heart. She had never returned it.

She caught them in jars, like fireflies, and lined them up on the rickety wooden shelf. Each night she would pick one to put by her bed; sometimes she could pretend that she’d found her heart, and she’d fall asleep on a happy lie.

Everyone, including me, loves Heartsong for one reason or another. I think that Nesta is a great character. Expect to see her pop up elsewhere; she’s too rich (in my head, that is) to be stuck in 100 words.