Gemotions

The kitchen timer beeped, but Sarah didn’t move. The smell of burning toast filled the air. She sat frozen at the kitchen table, the crumpled letter clutched in her hand. It was addressed to her younger sister, a sister she hadn’t spoken to in a decade. The words, once so carefully chosen, now seemed like a foreign language.

A knot formed in her stomach. She felt as though she’d stumbled into a dream, a place where the rules didn't apply. The mundane details of her life – the bills, the groceries, the burnt toast – all felt impossibly distant. She could only stare at the faded ink, the ghost of her own past staring back at her. The silence in the kitchen pressed against her ears.