Gemotions

He stared at the small, spiral-bound notebook as if it were a venomous snake. Amelia had left it on the kitchen counter, open to a page titled "Before I Kick the Bucket." The neat script was familiar, yet alien.

He read the first entry: "Go skydiving." Amelia, with her fear of heights? He swallowed hard. The second one read, "Learn to speak Italian." He'd always thought she loved English novels.

His hands began to tremble. This wasn't the Amelia he knew. "Write a novel" was scrawled further down. She'd always dismissed his writing hobby as frivolous. A cold dread settled in his stomach as he continued to read, each entry a revelation, a secret life he was just now discovering. He ran his hand through his hair, a nervous gesture he hadn't done in years.