Gemotions

Sarah’s breath hitched in her chest. Mrs. Gable? *Her* Mrs. Gable? The woman who taught her everything about sedimentary rocks and the solar system? The woman with the perpetually kind smile and the way she’d tap her pencil against her teeth while thinking? It couldn't be. She stared at the welcome sign, then at the woman standing by the door, greeting the children with a warmth that felt deeply familiar. A strange flutter started in her stomach, a feeling she hadn't anticipated at the school open house.

Her son, Leo, tugged at her hand, impatient to explore the classroom. Sarah, in a daze, walked with him. She moved stiffly, not quite believing this reality. She drifted into the room, her gaze fixed on the familiar, neatly arranged desks and the posters of planets tacked onto the walls. It was like stepping back in time, a sensation that left her feeling disoriented, but strangely comforted.

"Mom? Are you okay?" Leo's voice cut through the fog. She blinked, forcing a smile. "Just… remembering things," she managed to say, her voice sounding a little shaky even to her own ears. It was a peculiar sensation, to see her own past, almost, reflected in this room.