Gemotions

The house felt too quiet, the silence pressing in on Amelia. Her mother, always so organized, so controlling, had left behind a meticulously curated archive of her children’s academic lives. Amelia had found it while cleaning out the family home.

She found her own section: every test, every drawing, every paper, neatly labeled. She didn't understand the purpose of it. Amelia picked up a handwritten story, a fairy tale she'd written in third grade. She carefully tore the page in half. She then tore the next page in half. She continued until the story was in shreds, tiny confetti drifting to the floor.