Gemotions

The basement was damp and chilly, the air thick with the smell of mildew. Chloe descended the stairs, her shoulders hunched, her mood as dark as the shadows. She was rummaging through old boxes, hoping to find something, anything, to distract her.

She unearthed a letter, addressed to her older sister, a sibling rivalry she had tried to bury. The paper crackled in her grip, a symphony of forgotten anger. The details of perceived betrayals, of a competition for attention, seemed to leap from the page.

She felt a hot flush creep up her neck, her hands clenching into fists. She wanted to rip it up, to obliterate the reminder of those feelings. She threw the letter against the wall, the impact doing nothing to relieve the pressure in her chest.