Gemotions

The bookstore smelled of old paper and leather, a scent that always soothed Amelia. She was browsing the poetry section, a familiar weight in her chest. She found a quiet place to sit down with her book.

The ancestry results had been sitting on her phone for a week. The results now blinked on the screen. She didn’t know why she’d ordered it in the first place. She’d never felt any particular lack in her life. She skimmed the results. A “possible” link to a sibling. A name she’d never heard. A location she knew nothing about.

Amelia turned the page, already lost in the rhythm of the verses. The words flowed over her, a gentle tide washing over the shore. She liked the way things were.