Gemotions

I felt a knot forming in my stomach as I stared at the blank screen of my computer. The words wouldn’t come. The very act of living seemed like an exercise in futility. The world felt muffled, as if seen through a thick pane of glass. My phone buzzed, a persistent annoyance. It was a delivery notification. On my doorstep was a small, ornate music box, the melody from which seemed to take me back to a particular spring day, and a letter. The gift was from a girl I’d taught long ago, who had faced a difficult upbringing.