Four of Hearts: A Love Simple Story, #1

By Cori Elizabeth Hardin

This isn’t a great literary piece.  In fact, there are probably innumerable ways this simple story could be expanded upon.  But I’ve tried to leave it as close to the original as I could.  I’ve tried not to remove any part of her from it, especially the innocent simplicity of it.

I’m not sure how old she was when she wrote this.  I’ve checked the date stamp on the floppy disk and it was last modified on February 7, 1998.  Nearly nine months later, we would lose her, and along with her a huge chunk of our hearts.  My sister, Cori, was only eighteen when she died, but she made an inestimable impact on those of us who loved her. ~Olivia

Tiffani and Nikki had never been friends, though they'd known each other since kindergarten.  When they're forced to take cover with some of their classmates during a storm, they'll discover that sometimes good friendships and first loves can be found when you least expect them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Olivia Hardin
• Release date: Oct 8, 2015
• ISBN: 9781519901118

Book preview

This isn’t a great literary piece. In fact, there are probably innumerable ways this simple story could be expanded upon. But I’ve tried to leave it as close to the original as I could. I’ve tried not to remove any part of her from it, especially the innocent simplicity of it.

I’m not sure how old she was when she wrote it. I’ve checked the date stamp on the floppy disk and it was last modified on February 7, 1998. Nearly nine months later, we would lose her, and along with her a huge chunk of our hearts. My sister, Cori, was only eighteen when she died, but she made an inestimable impact on those of us who loved her.

About a month ago, I had a dream about Cori. She was sick. So sick she couldn’t get out of bed and in the dream I remained by her side for days and days. I knew she was dying, but I stayed there, waiting and caressing her cheek and brushing the hair away from her forehead. And then, without warning she sat up. And it was so vivid and so much like I remembered her.

We girls—my two sisters and I—would sit in our room together and giggle and chat as little women are want to do. Cori would almost always be cross-legged, her hands tucked against her ankles holding her back up straight, a beaming smile from ear-to-ear.

And that was the Cori who suddenly awoke from her death bed and smiled at me.

I’m hungry, she said.

"You’ve been