Gemotions

The attic air hung thick and dusty, catching in Maya's throat. She wanted this done, over with. She’d promised to help her father sort through their mother’s things, a task she’d been putting off for weeks. Each box held a potential landmine of grief. But the school assignment boxes? Those were just… tedious. She yanked open the lid of the first one, scattering a cloud of chalk dust.

Her fingers flew through the brittle papers, the handwriting barely legible in places. A childish drawing of a cat with an absurdly long tail. A science project on the water cycle, complete with construction paper clouds. Maya sighed, a frustrated puff of air. This was going to take forever. She just wanted to get it done. The thought of the mountain of items waiting on the garage to be sold was like a weight on her shoulders.