Gemotions

The scent of lavender wafted from the garden, a fragrance that usually soothed Amelia. Today, it only intensified the hollowness inside her. She sat on the porch swing, the letter clutched in her grasp. It was a letter to her college sweetheart, a man she’d broken things off with many years ago.

The world seemed muted, the vibrant colors of the blooming flowers failing to register. Her breath hitched. The words, filled with youthful passion and a boundless belief in a shared future, mocked her current reality. She felt a familiar pressure in her temples and knew she'd be sleepless again.