Gemotions

The musty smell of the storage unit enveloped Leo. He’d promised his mother he’d go through his grandmother's things. He reached a box labeled "Miscellany." Inside, amidst trinkets and faded fabrics, he discovered a letter. The handwriting was his grandmother’s, looping and precise. It was addressed to her boss at the local hospital.

He carefully unfolded the paper. It was a draft of a resignation letter. He felt a deep sense of satisfaction as he read his grandmother's words, filled with bold self-assurance, describing her reasons for leaving her post as head nurse to open a soup kitchen. The language was passionate, full of a fierce dedication to helping others.

He sat on a folding chair in the storage unit, a wide grin breaking across his face. He felt strangely connected to his grandmother. He felt as though he understood her, and himself, a little bit better.