Gemotions

The news broke like a tidal wave. Mrs. Gable, the kind woman who ran the local bookstore and always slipped extra cookies into the children’s books she sold, was the secret heir to a fortune. Her late husband, a seemingly ordinary accountant, had made an unimaginable amount of money.

The thought of all the struggling artists and young writers she'd helped, all the times she'd given away free books to families who couldn't afford them, choked me up. I understood how much she must have wanted to protect her generosity by being discreet.

I made a point of visiting the store, buying a few books, and telling her how much her acts of kindness had meant to everyone. Her smile seemed to falter, but she squeezed my hand, and her eyes held a brightness that was almost hidden before.