Gemotions

Rain drummed against the windowpane, mirroring the steady thrum in Arthur's chest. He'd been staring out at it for an hour, the grey light doing nothing to lift the weight pressing him down. A delivery truck rumbled to a halt outside. He almost didn't notice, lost as he was in the echoing silence of the apartment. When the doorbell finally chimed, it startled him.

He shuffled to the door, his slippers dragging across the worn wooden floor. Through the peephole, he saw the delivery driver, a young woman with a tired smile. He opened the door, accepting the package with a mumbled thanks. The label read: "To: Eleanor Vance." *Not for me.*

Arthur sighed, the breath catching in his throat. He set the box on the hallway table, the cardboard rough against his fingertips. Eleanor Vance. The name of the woman who had lived here before him, a woman he knew nothing about except that she was gone, leaving behind only the ghost of her presence and a faint, lingering scent of lavender. He knew he should return it to the delivery service but just stared at the box.