Gemotions

The elegant script of the invitation felt alien in her calloused hands. Maria blinked, her eyes stinging. She was a single mother of two. She ran a small, struggling business. Those were her problems.

She glanced around her cluttered living room. It was nothing like the polished lives she imagined her classmates now lived. The invitation reminded her of all the things she'd missed, all the opportunities lost.

She tossed the card onto the pile of bills on the kitchen table, the action a testament to her current position. She knew it would bring back an ocean of feelings she wanted to forget.