Your Heart Into Pieces

They were just kids.

Samara with her long fire-red hair, barely touching the ground. Her large brown eyes always open for the next adventure. Her paper white skin, continually burnt from the sun above.

Archie with his shaggy blonde hair, swept to the side. His hazel eyes lovingly glancing at his bride-to be. His tan skin, leathery from years of walking without shoes and working hard towards their marriage.

Their families didn't embrace the idea with open arms, of two nineteen-year-olds united. They came up with excuses that they were too young, or that Archie had too long of hair, possibly that Samara wore tie-dye shirts too often, or that her flower crowns were too hippieish.

So they eloped, hand in hand in the office of a judge. It wasn't the naturesque and light-colored day Samara had hoped for, but it was enough. Their love made it enough.

On the night of their wedding their first children were conceived. Nine months later, twins Coal and Lilac were born. They were strictly spoiled, loved and cherished. Their father went to work as a landscaper, and their mother stayed home with them. She cuddled and fed, all happily without a complaint.

A year later Daisy was born into the happy healthy home. Her parents had just enough time for her after the twins were in bed, and later they had only spots of precious moments here and there.

Nine months later Luna was produced. This time into a home of crying toddlers and a very nagging baby. The home became more stressed as life went on. Even though it was against what they wanted, the twins were sent to day care just for the sanity of Samara. She coddled her other babies, trying to be a mother they would remember in good light, not a stressed or tense one.

Two years later, even though they had told each other they had a big enough, happy enough family, Ann was born. A baby brought into a mess of tears and hesitant smiles. Archie and Samara now didn't have time to seek out adventures or get sunburns tied to a story. They were either working, feeding, helping, teaching, or trying to have a moment to be alone. There was no time for cuddling or coddling, there was no time for precious child-parent moments, it was just one big family, five children all under the age of four, squished and stretched into a small apartment building.

Archie left more often for work. He made up excuses that he needed more money or that he wanted to buy a new house, but Samara knew he needed time away from the children. She would scoff, annoyed. She needed him more than ever yet he distanced himself.

One day he came home, bright eyed as he used to be. She hadn't seen him like this in more than two years. As he entered the doors the twins ran up to him, babbling things that only they themselves could understand. For the first time he picked each of them up, spun them, and hugged them furiously, as he had used to do. He went up to Samara and kissed her passionately.

"What is this?" She asked with a small grin.

"I found a new job." He said smiling.

"What is it? Did you get it?" A million questions entered Samara's mind, and a million more came when Archie took a miniature Superman comic book out of his pocket. "What on earth is that?"

"It is the newest 'Team Superman' comic book. Came out yesterday." He looked at his wife grinning as if she should understand what he meant.

"I don't know what you mean." She frowned as she took the little pictured book, scanning it and flipping through it.

"I will be payed to collect comic books!" He said as he once again picked up Lilac, his daughter.

"Payed?" What did he mean? "How? Why?"

"They want me to turn our house into a comic museum! 'They' meaning 'UCBA' or 'United Comic Books of America'. They stopped me in the street and asked me if I wanted to be a billionaire. Who am I to say no?" He kissed his wife again, overcome by foolish excitement.

"Our home? Turn this into a hoarding station where strangers pay to come inside? How do they know people would like it? Why did they stop you in the street? Doesn't it seem...sketchy to you? What if you buy thousands of dollars worth of comic books and don't get any customers? We would go broke. I'd say don't go for it." Samara hugged her husband and walked away.

"Too late." He said sheepishly.

"Too late?" Samara turned around. "What do you mean 'too late'?"

"I quit my job and bought out a different collector's vintage comic books."

"You did what? Why do you think he was selling his comic books? Why didn't you ask me first?" She said, the reality of such a comical fight hitting her in the face.

"So now I have to go to my wife before I do anything? Wow, what a healthy marriage!" Archie spat out the sarcastic comment.

"Yes, yes it is! I don't care about much things you do, but quitting your job? That is just immature and childish! I thought you had better sense than that!" Suddenly Ann was crying, Samara rushed over, picked her daughter up and hushed her.

"I thought you had more trust than that! Why did I marry someone that doesn't believe in me or my dreams?" He glared.

"It's not that I don't trust you. I trust you with most matters. It's also not that I don't believe in your dreams. This has never been your dream! It's only the mention of wealth that has you hooked." She shuddered.

"You never had trusted me." He babyishly chided.

"Maybe I haven't or maybe I don't." She had a moment of thought, wondering whether to cut him down or not. She did. "Maybe I have logical reasons. Maybe I should never have put ANY trust in you. But I guess we just need to work through that."

"'We'? No, I think you mean 'me.' I think you want me to work through my problems while you keep having kids. Its your fault I don't get to do anything I want to do!" He glared at each of his children, one at a time, making the twins whimper out of fear and the unknown.

"Now that is immature. You are a grown man, and a father. I might not want a man that glares at his children just because they exist!" Tears came to her eyes. "I'm also not the sole reason we keep having children! I think you must have learned that in biology class." Samara grabbed the babies, the twins and Daisy following close behind. They walked into the kitchen.

With the slam of the door, Archie went right back outside. He didn't know he was also slamming the door to his heart, locking nasty feelings of guilt and betrayal inside.

Like everything else they did in life, Samara and Archie filed for a divorce too soon. They should have realized that love should always be a choice, not always a feeling. They should have learned to love each other, to not provoke anger, and to help each other achieve their dreams, not let one get away with one while the other is stuck at home or vice versa. They split the children. Samara went to live at her mothers house with the twins and Ann, and Archie took Luna and Daisy and started a comic book museum. It was thriving for a year, then died down.

They were both right to a degree.

Samara got married again to a wonderful man at the age of thirty after much careful thought. By then the twins were ten and Ann was seven.

Archie never got married but moved to Japan at the age of forty. By then both children were moved out of his home and had gotten back in contact with their mother. Samara and Archie never met again.

You never know the things that will tear your life apart. It might be as simple as a comic book. Keep a watch out and above all, love. Even in the midst of conflict: love. Don't try to cut each other down, for that will eventually lead to cutting each other out, and cutting your heart into pieces.