Gemotions

The attic felt oppressive, a suffocating heat pressing down on Eleanor. She’d promised herself she would find her grandmother’s jewellery, but the task was proving more difficult than she’d anticipated. Everything was covered in a film of grime.

She unearthed a box containing her old school things. At the very bottom, beneath a collection of forgotten schoolbooks, she unearthed a letter. It was addressed to her best friend, Sarah, and dated the week before they had a falling out.

The words, dripping with a manufactured affection, made her throat tighten. Her hand twitched as she reread them, the sugary sweetness a stark contrast to the bitterness that still simmered inside her. It was a lie, all of it. She dropped the letter on the floor, the memory reawakening with a vengeance.