Gemotions

The house felt cold, even with the fireplace blazing. She huddled under a blanket, unable to shake the chill that had settled deep within her. The world felt muted, distant, like looking at life through frosted glass.

She’d been avoiding this room, this task, for days. Her mother’s study. And there it was: a sturdy cardboard box, labeled in her mother's flawless cursive: “Sarah’s Schoolwork.”

She stared at the neat files, the carefully preserved artifacts of a past life. She reached for a math test, the familiar questions now meaningless. Her shoulders slumped. The emotions, raw and unfiltered, threatened to overwhelm her.