Gemotions

The classroom was quiet, the students having long since departed for the day. Ms. Rodriguez leaned back in her chair, the weight of the day lifting. A delivery person had dropped off a small, wrapped box just an hour before. She’d been too busy to open it. Now, however, the curiosity was too much to withstand.

She carefully unwrapped the gift: a framed photograph of a class she’d taught years ago, all smiling faces, captured in their youthful glory. A thrill, a pleasurable sensation, tingled in her extremities. A sense of accomplishment and legacy settled over her.

She sat for a long moment, smiling at the image, remembering each student and the impact she had, however small, on their lives. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she was lost in the reverie.