Gemotions

The email sat in Amelia’s inbox, unread for nearly a week. She’d been putting off the results of the DNA test. Now, scrolling through her phone during her lunch break, she tapped it open, fully expecting to see a list of distant cousins and a family tree that barely branched. Instead, the first line read: "Your DNA has identified a potential biological parent: Martha Jenkins." Amelia's sandwich suddenly tasted like cardboard.

She dropped her phone on the table. The fluorescent lights of the breakroom seemed to hum with a new, insistent energy. She picked the phone up again, reread the line. Then, she scrolled down. Nothing. Just a name. No photo, no biography, no contact information. Just a name. Her breath hitched in her chest.

Amelia’s adoptive parents, bless their hearts, had been open about her adoption since she was a small child. They loved her fiercely. But Martha Jenkins? That name was a complete blank.