Gemotions

The grandmother held the phone, squinting at the screen. The hidden account belonged to her granddaughter. The posts were mostly selfies, with heavily edited faces. The comments were banal.

She felt a flicker of something, but she couldn't name it. She turned away from the phone, toward the window, and saw the falling leaves. It was the beginning of autumn. She sighed.

She went to the kitchen and made herself tea, her movements slow and deliberate. She poured milk. She added sugar. She waited for it to cool before drinking it.