Gemotions

The delivery man had been gone for hours, yet Maria still hadn't touched the package. It sat near the door, a beacon of somebody else's past. "Ms. Evelyn Reed," it announced. Her gaze kept returning to it, as if it was a living thing. She knew, rationally, that it was just a parcel. But the thought of discarding it, of making a decision about it, filled her with dread. She had a difficult time knowing what was important.

She made a cup of tea, her hands shaking slightly. The heat from the mug did little to soothe her. She was hungry, but couldn’t make herself eat anything. The apartment felt suffocating, the walls closing in.

She kept running over the possibilities in her mind. Should she return it to the sender? Leave it for the postman? Or, most frighteningly, open it? The mere thought caused her heart to race. Her eyes kept returning to the package, as if she expected it to make the decision for her. She felt like she couldn’t breathe.