After learning their father has a terminal illness, siblings Leonardo and Leili will stop at nothing to change his fate. When they discover a company that is secretly searching for a Tree of Life, they decide that they must find out if it could help their father... before it's too late. All the while something incredible is changing within them, a power of knowing that could help them find the Tree of Life if one exists- and possibly so much more.
A Seal Upon the Heart is a philosophical adventure that explores the resilience of love, the fragility of life, and the bonds made in a lifetime.
After learning their father has a terminal illness, siblings Leonardo and Leili will stop at nothing to change his fate. When they discover a company that is secretly searching for a Tree of Life, they decide that they must find out if it could help their father... before it's too late. All the while something incredible is changing within them, a power of knowing that could help them find the Tree of Life if one exists- and possibly so much more.
A Seal Upon the Heart is a philosophical adventure that explores the resilience of love, the fragility of life, and the bonds made in a lifetime.
The seasons changed on the quiet cul-de-sac of Long Drive so gradually that one never noticed their changing, not at least until a new season had already arrived. And so it was that winter had brought the chill and silence of winter’s first snow, just in time for Christmas. It was as if, even, the chill had frozen this sleepy town to a standstill; there was not a sound to be heard unless you paid close attention for a far-off bird or the subtle crunch of a squirrel’s trudging through the snow, and it would be hard to believe that seconds were passing and spring would arrive soon enough.
The setback of number 516 was unassuming. It was a modest brick house, framed by two large, bare oak trees and an off-center beech tree. The previous night’s six inches of snow now piled neatly on each of the three cement steps leading to the maroon front door. Four frosted windows, two up and two down, flanked the door.
Beyond the second story window, two from the left, Leonardo pushed a creaky door forward and leaned into the opening with his ear, a hand raised behind him.
“I don’t hear anyone,” he whispered to his back.“Come on.”
He entered the room and Leili crept in behind him.
“Check under the bed,” he whispered, “I’ll look in the closet.”
“Are you sure there are presents in here?” Leili asked.
“Santa brings his, but Momma and Bobba have to hide theirs somewhere in this house,” he said. “Remember our bicycles last year? I found them in the basement.”
“But we’re not in the basement, Leo. And how are bicycles going to fit under the bed?”
“Leili, stop! We checked downstairs already. Just start looking.”
Leili shrugged and looked under the bed. “I only see some plastic bins and a few shopping bags.”
“Check them.” Leo’s voice was muffled from inside the closet. “Wait!” he whisper-shouted, “Leili! There’s a box behind the clothes. Come help me.”
Leili sprang up from the floor and to the closet; she hovered by the open door first to listen downstairs, then went to the bathroom to fetch a pair of scissors. By the time she turned around Leo was grunting and dragging a box from the closet into the open. He saw the scissors in Leili’s hand, “Good, let me have them.”
Leo threaded his fingers through the loops and opened the scissors. He had seen his dad cut boxes open countless times, but there was no suitable approach and he quickly discovered that he did not know how to begin.
“Let me have them,” Leili said, “I know how to do it.”
“Hold on Leili,” Leo said as he stabbed under the taped seam.
“Leo, you’re going to destroy the box. Let me have them.”
“Leili, hold on, I’m doing it!”
“Leo!”
Distracted from their purpose, they returned to their usual bicker. Leo fumbled with the scissors as Leili whined at him, until Leo remembered to use one open scissor edge as a knife. The tape split easily, and the box was open. They returned to cooperation.
They lifted out a tablet computer, a sweet brother and sister pair of plush baby dolls, and two cashmere scarves, each embroidered with their names.
“Leili, I got a tablet!” Leo said.
“No?!” Leili rebutted, “Who says it’s for you?”
“Leili, computers aren’t appropriate for second graders. We code in fifth grade.”
“Not fair–,” she whined, but she was interrupted by the sound of a door opening and closing downstairs, and they could hear their mom greet their dad.
“Hurry, we need to put them back!” They scrambled to get the gifts back in the box. Leili whispered, “How are we going to tape it up? They’ll know we opened it.” But the wood stairs were already thumping under rapid, determined footsteps; their dad was coming upstairs, and there was something unusual about how quickly he was approaching. “No time,” Leo whispered. He pulled Leili aside as he kicked the box into the closet. He silenced Leili with a finger to his lips as he swung the door quickly back to a slightly open position, as if nothing had been disturbed. Then they waited, and feared they were caught. Either the bathroom or the closet were his next stops. They could escape if he went into the bathroom, but they were caught if he went to the closet.
Their hearts raced, and Leo wondered if their dad would hear his chest pounding. His footsteps arrived at the upstairs landing. The bedroom door opened and then closed. Silence hung. They stared fearfully wide-eyed into each other’s eyes, Leo still clutching his sister’s arm. Leili peered through the slit in the open door but could only see a sliver of bench at the foot of the bed. Both wondered why there were no footsteps, no rustling, no door opening, no sounds whatsoever. Silence. They worried that their dad noticed something amiss and had stopped at the doorway to search the room.
They heard him release a deep sigh, as if closing the door gave him some safety that the open door threatened. Now Leo looked through the sliver, too; he felt ashamed for snooping, but something heavier weighed on him. His dad ran upstairs and shut the door. To be alone, he thought. And they were trespassing on whatever the reason for it was.
Their dad crossed into the field of view of the ajar door, then collapsed onto the bench at the foot of the bed. They could see him sit upright for a moment, then, with another sigh, his face disappeared again as he leaned forward. Only a strip of his torso was visible through the door’s opening, but the kids could glean that he was slumping his elbows onto his knees, face in his palms.
Leonardo and Leili looked to each other, uneasy. Then they heard their father begin to sob.
A brother-and-sister duo – 11-year-old Leonardo and 8-year-old Leili - are on a quest to save their father from a devastating Leukemia diagnosis in A Seal Upon the Heart. Determined to help, Leo and Leili know it is fate when they see an advertisement for a company claiming to have found a cure for death. They embark on a daring trip to New York City all by themselves to find that cure. Once there, however, they quickly realize that not everything is as it seems. Leo and Leili start exhibiting strange abilities, almost like premonitions or visions. These abilities will help them when they get swept up in a special, top-secret mission to find an extraordinary treasure: the Tree of Life. Suddenly thrust into an adult world of secrets and danger, Leo and Leili will have to rely on each other more than ever, and especially on their bond as brother and sister, when sinister forces threaten to ruin everything. A Seal Upon the Heart is a bittersweet, resilient tale about the power of love and family, and what true immortality really is.
I read A Seal Upon the Heart in one sitting. As someone who lost a parent to cancer only a few years ago, I felt a strong and tangible connection to the young heroes of the book. When we hear that someone we love is sick, all we want is to be able to do anything to make them better again so that they can stay with us. Even though I was in my mid-twenties when I lost my mother to breast cancer, inside I felt like I was a little kid like Leo and Leili. Imagining a world without my mother seemed impossibly dark and empty. I remember how grateful I was for the bonds I had with my older brothers. If it would have been possible, I know we would have embarked on our own journey – no matter the cost to ourselves – if it meant we might be able to save her.
A Seal Upon the Heart reminds readers of all ages that death is a part of life. We cannot escape it any more than we can escape an upcoming math test or big project at work. What truly lives forever is love. In the beginning of the book, Arian – Leo and Leili’s father – makes it a point to remind his children that even when they cannot see each him, he will always be with them and his love will always find them. This message carries through the book as we see Leo and Leili separated first from their parents, and then each other, as they race against time to find the Tree of Life. The book ends with the same message: “I can always love you, and you can always love me…And in this way, I will live and live.” A middle grade book that aims to teach young readers how not to see death as just a big, scary black hole is a gem. My niece, about the same age as Leili, asked for the first time a couple of years ago why she did not have any grandmothers. One died before she was born, and she was only two when my mother passed away. I wish we could have had this book to explain to her that even though she cannot physically see them, they love her every day and are always in her heart.
A Seal Upon the Heart uses imagination, childhood passion, and love to remind us that through love, we become Guardians of Life. I give immense thanks to Arian Hatefi for reminding me of this vital lesson, and bringing comfort not only to me, but to any readers who have experienced loss, fear for a future loss, or worry for their own mortality.