Gemotions

The attic’s stale air made Amelia's head ache. Sunlight sliced through a crack in the boarded-up window, illuminating dust motes dancing in the gloom. The previous occupants had left in a hurry, it seemed – a half-finished puzzle, a collection of chipped teacups, a tattered teddy bear.

She’d stumbled upon a small, wooden box hidden under a stack of old magazines. Inside, nestled on faded velvet, was a silver locket. It was tarnished, the surface etched with delicate flowers.

Opening the locket, she discovered two tiny portraits. A man and a woman, their faces beaming with joy. A knot formed in her throat. She hadn't earned the right to this intimacy, to these fragments of someone else's life.