Love, it’s what Makes a Heart, a Heart

My mom recently celebrated her birthday. What is usually a happy occasion was this year saddened, as the first two callers on her special day were always her father and brother who both passed away in December. Not getting those calls this year left a hole in her heart. Then something happened. Unbeknownst to her (or my “techie” dad), for more than a year they had been receiving voice messages through a cloud service they didn’t know about, having only checked the machine in the den. Over a hundred messages (mostly telemarketers) filled their inbox. But there were two personal messages and they were from Papa and Mark. What’s more, they were birthday greetings from the year before, saved as though for this very reason.

Hi. It’s me your crazy uncle

I froze. Was it a sign from the other side? I wish. No, I knew it was just a random test email, emanating from a cold, heartless piece of machinery, but at that moment, it had the power to warm my heart.