Gemotions

The musty smell of the attic swirled around her as Claire began her investigation. It was supposed to be a sentimental journey, a trip down memory lane. Instead, it was an exercise in frustration. Her mother’s collection was an overwhelming display of what felt like her own personal failings.

She picked up a creative writing assignment, the words she had poured her heart into as a child now seeming juvenile and embarrassing. Her mother’s notes, scrawled in the margins, offered constructive criticism. They weren't meant to cause pain, but that's exactly what they did.

She threw the essay back in the box, the action laced with a frustrated energy. The past was never as simple as it seemed.