Gemotions

“Unbelievable.” This was the only thought that ran through Patricia’s mind as she stared at the letter. After all this time, she thought, the audacity. She’d learned to live with the pain, to accept the wound that had been inflicted.

She had built a life, a good life. A life, even. Now, a simple letter was threatening to destroy the peace she had worked so hard to achieve.

She crumpled the paper, her fingers trembling, and tossed it into the fireplace. It landed, a pale white lump, at the edge of the grate. She grabbed a match and struck it. The flame, small and insignificant at first, spread, and then engulfed the paper, but she watched, her jaw set.