Gemotions

The first thing Maria did was to pack her father's old guitar in a box. It wasn't even a particularly good instrument, but it was *hers*. Or so she had thought. Now, apparently, someone else had a claim to it. A half-sister, a woman she’d never even heard of.

Maria spent the next few days in a daze, going through old photographs. Her father’s face, always smiling, seemed to mock her. She couldn’t bring herself to destroy the pictures, but she felt a strange distance from them. He hadn't just been her father. He was a liar.

She barely spoke to anyone. The world felt dim, muted. She felt a deep, throbbing ache in her chest that she couldn't alleviate. How could he? How could he have kept such a monumental secret? She hated the idea of sharing everything that had been hers, everything he had left behind, with this stranger.