“This is the heart we’re born with, Annie. It’s small and empty because it’s been through nothing.” He put it in her hand. “And this . . .” He took the four other pipe cleaners and twisted them to create a larger, complicated version, with lines crisscrossing the insides. “This is the heart we die with. After the people we love. After all our losses. It’s bigger, you see?” “But it’s broken,” Annie said. “Yes.” “That’s what ruins it.” Paulo pushed the heart to Annie’s chest. “No. That’s what makes it whole.”
