Gemotions

The silence of the library was broken only by the rustling of brittle paper. As Eleanor flipped through the album, a cold dread spread through her. The stories about her great-grandmother, a stern, unyielding woman, portrayed her as a pillar of the community, a model of rectitude. But the photographs showed something entirely different.

There she was, laughing wildly with a group of friends, dancing in a manner that would have been scandalous for the time, and with a different man. The photos showed a person bursting with life. A person that was hidden by the family narrative.

Her face burned. She felt exposed, as if someone had pulled back the curtain on a carefully constructed play.