Gemotions

The letter reeked of stale cigarette smoke, a smell that immediately triggered a sharp, almost physical, dislike. It was from her sister, penned during a particularly acrimonious period in their lives. The words were a calculated assault, a carefully crafted list of perceived slights and failures.

She’d found it shoved inside a box of old photographs. The photos now seemed tainted. She tossed the pictures aside, her hand shaking slightly. Her sister, she realized, had always been a master of manipulation.

She felt a tremor run through her. Every sentence was a poisoned dart, each word aimed at the tenderest parts of her. She’d always known her sister felt this way, but reading it in black and white, laid bare like this, was a fresh wound. She went to the medicine cabinet, reaching for the bottle of pills she normally reserved for sleepless nights.