Gemotions

The air in the spare room was thick with the scent of old paper and something vaguely floral. Sarah, knees aching, straightened and rubbed her back. She’d been tasked with cataloguing her uncle's things after his passing, a task which she was not enjoying.

She found a letter tucked between the pages of a well-worn book. It was addressed to her, written in a cramped, shaky hand. The letter recounted a family secret, a story she thought she had put behind her. The details felt like a physical blow.

She recoiled, her breath catching in her throat. She clenched the letter in her fist and turned her back on it. All that work, all that pretence. She shook her head. No, she would not give it any more of her attention.