Gemotions

The card sat in her hand, a crisp white rectangle against the worn wooden of her kitchen table. "Happy Birthday!" it chirped in a playful font. The handwriting was neat, flowing, and unfamiliar. She'd been staring out the window for twenty minutes, watching the rain blur the leaves on the maple tree, before she even noticed the mail. Now this, a brightly colored salutation from an unknown well-wisher. A tiny flutter of something she couldn't name moved in her chest, quickly dissolving as she set it aside without opening it. She sighed, then took another long sip of lukewarm coffee.