Gemotions

The sunlight, sharp and unforgiving, illuminated the dust motes dancing in the air of her grandmother's cluttered attic. The letter lay amidst a pile of forgotten things, a jarring splash of white against the faded fabrics and yellowing photographs. It was from her sister, the sister who had spread rumors that had broken her. A slow burn of anger ignited within her. She moved, deliberately, towards a trunk filled with old family heirlooms, a reminder of all the connections that had been lost. She began sorting through it with a brutal efficiency, discarding anything that reminded her of the past, of all the people she could no longer trust.