Gemotions

The envelope was thick, the paper expensive. Inside, a first edition of a book she’d always wanted. It was from Emily, who’d been a quiet student, always drawing in the margins of her notebooks. The gift was a complete surprise.

It had been years since she'd seen Emily. She recalled a parent-teacher conference, where she had declared Emily a waste of time. "She will never be able to hold down a real job," she had said, dismissing Emily’s artistic inclinations. She regretted every cruel word.

Her breath hitched. She hadn't even recognized the name on the return address. She was a ruin of the woman she'd once been.