Gemotions

The letter arrived on her birthday. A cruel jest. It was from her sister, apologizing for a childhood slight. It reawakened buried memories and wounds. Her chest felt constricted. She couldn't breathe.

She threw the letter across the room. She was surrounded by the gifts her husband had bought her, symbols of a life she'd carefully crafted. Yet, all she could see was her sister, always the shining star. The perfect life.

She poured a glass of wine, then another, the bitterness mirroring the ache in her heart. She stared at the photographs, her smiling face looking back at her. Her joy seemed tainted now. She knew she would retaliate. She would make her sister regret it.