Gemotions

The letter, tucked between the pages of a forgotten novel, was addressed to a friend, now long gone. David smoothed the creased paper, the scent of lavender and old paper filling the small apartment. The words dripped with a naive, youthful optimism about the future, a future they'd planned together, a future that never arrived.

A wave of something akin to contentment washed over him. He felt the phantom weight of a shared joke, a shared dream.

He sat on the couch with a sigh, picking up the phone. He called his sister, someone he hadn't spoken to in weeks. He smiled, as he listened to her voice on the other end, feeling a deep connection.