Gemotions

The relentless sun beat down on Katherine as she attempted to weed her garden, a task she’d been putting off for weeks. She was not a fan of gardening. Each weed was a personal affront. She'd spent her morning trying to resolve a complex, stressful issue at work. Now this.

Her shovel struck something. A small, wooden box. Inside, she found a collection of letters, tied with a faded ribbon. Letters to a man she had once loved. A man she’d eventually married, and then divorced. She wanted to throw up.

The words, filled with youthful passion and naivete, triggered a wave of nausea. The past, once vivid and promising, now felt like a suffocating weight. She had no recollection of burying them. She pushed the box back in the earth and covered it quickly.