Gemotions

The book was in the bookshelf, wedged between a collection of travel guides and a hefty biography of Marie Curie. Clara, pretending to look for a book on gardening, spotted it. The cover was plain, a simple title: "Beneath the Willow Tree." Her boyfriend, Ben, had always been secretive about his writing.

She lifted it and the weight was significant. As she leafed through the pages, her pulse quickened. There it was, the woman in the story, the way she spoke, the jokes she'd told him just that morning. It was her, almost perfectly rendered, from the way she chewed her lip when she was thinking to the way she loved to read in the park.

A giggle escaped her. The narrative was tender, filled with longing glances and stolen moments. A sudden feeling warmed her chest. She wanted to know what happened next, and at the same time, she never wanted it to end.