Gemotions

The afternoon sun, filtering through the window, illuminated a layer of dust on the unopened box. Lisa found the box whilst cleaning out the garage. Inside, she found a letter in her mother's handwriting, addressed to her. The letter was dated when she was a child. Her mother wrote about believing in her, about seeing a future filled with promise.

Lisa, staring at the letter, felt a hollowness inside her, a feeling like the world was too bright. She reread the words, each sentence a delicate blow. She'd struggled with her own identity, had spent years lost in a haze of uncertainty. She felt a burning in her eyes. The letter felt accusatory, like a phantom limb of all her unfulfilled aspirations.