Gemotions

The apartment felt vast, echoing with the silence of her solitude. Clara had rearranged her furniture again, trying to fill the emptiness that had settled in her heart. Sunlight, thin and anemic, struggled to penetrate the dust-covered windows. She had been staring blankly at the TV screen when the mail arrived.

A small, unassuming envelope lay amidst the stack. The neat, precise script on the front stopped her cold. It was from someone she hadn't spoken to in over twenty years, the girl who had usurped her role in the school play. Her fingers tightened around the paper.

Clara moved to the kitchen table. The silence of the apartment was so profound that even her breathing felt loud. The paper crinkled as she read. The apology, carefully phrased, spoke of youthful cruelty and regret. Clara had long since forgotten the details of the hurt. Now the letter brought back all the other hurts she had suffered.