Gemotions

The heat was unbearable, both inside and out. Maya had lost everything: her job, her apartment, her savings. The weight of it pressed down on her chest, making it hard to breathe. The world felt like it was ending.

She'd stumbled into her childhood home, the key still under the chipped ceramic frog. Her mother’s meticulous nature had been both a source of comfort and frustration. In the attic, she knew, lay the detritus of her youth. Every single scrap of paper. She found a trunk, its lid creaking open as she pried it loose. Inside, a sea of paper. She picked up a drawing she'd made as a child. A tiny smile touched her lips, a brief respite in the turmoil.