Gemotions

"Reunion?" Sarah mumbled, the word barely audible as she opened the glossy envelope. The picture on the invitation showed a gaggle of laughing faces, all impossibly younger. A sigh escaped her lips as she sat on the worn couch, the invitation resting on her lap.

Outside, the world bustled with a life she felt detached from. The rumble of a bus, the distant sound of children playing – all sounded blurred to her. She imagined the noise, the pressure, the forced joviality of the event. A knot formed in her stomach at the thought.

She folded the invitation neatly and placed it in a drawer. Maybe tomorrow, she thought, she would think about what to do about it. But not now. For now, the silence of her apartment, the familiar hum of the refrigerator, was a comfortable haven.