Lub Dub Sounds Of The Heart -

A soft, rhythmic thumping that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. Elara would pull the blanket over her head, but the sound followed her. “It’s a monster hiding in my pillow,” she whispered to her stuffed rabbit, Barnaby. “A quiet monster with a two-beat heart.”

He told her a story. He said that deep inside every person, there was a small, tireless drummer. The drummer had two hands. One hand said lub —that was the sound of the heart’s big doors swinging shut, pushing blood out to run errands all over the body, bringing oxygen to toes and fingers and the very top of the head. The other hand said dub —that was the sound of the heart taking a quick breath, refilling, getting ready to send the blood out again. lub dub sounds of the heart

Elara listened to her own chest again. Lub-dub. Lub-dub. A soft, rhythmic thumping that seemed to come

And for the first time in weeks, Elara closed her eyes and let the quiet music of her own heart sing her to sleep. “A quiet monster with a two-beat heart

“The lub is the go,” Grandfather said, tapping her knee. “The dub is the stop and rest. Then go again. Over and over, every second of every day, without you ever having to think about it.”

Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub.

“What’s wrong, little star?” he asked, sitting beside her.