Gemotions

The handwritten letters, bundled and tied with faded ribbon, lay scattered on the coffee table. Inside, secrets and love, the echoes of a bygone era. Her cousin, Michael, was blubbering about family history. His sister, Clara, stared at them, her jaw tight. Her mind, however, was in a different place.

She'd recently been denied a loan for her art studio, a long-held ambition. The letters, she knew, were worth a small fortune.

“Do you think we should have them appraised?” she asked, her voice deliberately calm, hiding the tremor in her hands. The thought of the space, the freedom to paint, the ability to build her dream filled her head.