Gemotions

The sunlight sliced through the window as Sarah read the letter. She had discovered it in the back of a drawer. She read the words, and a phantom ache throbbed behind her eyes. It was addressed to her absent husband, written shortly after their separation.

The words detailed the way he had left her, how the promises had turned to dust. The raw emotion spilled onto the page. He didn't even try. She felt a familiar hollowness expanding in her stomach. She pictured herself, younger and hopeful, writing these words. She tore the letter into tiny pieces and threw them into the fireplace, watching them curl and blacken in the flames.