Gemotions

The scent of aged paper and leather filled Eleanor’s tiny apartment. She had just picked up a used copy of "Pride and Prejudice," the spine cracked and the pages yellowed, at a bargain bookshop. She ran her fingers across the embossed title, the raised letters a gentle invitation to another world.

As she flipped through the pages, a brittle sheet of paper fluttered out. It was a letter, folded neatly, penned in elegant cursive. Her breath hitched. The handwriting reminded her of her grandmother, the woman who had first ignited her love of reading.

A warmth blossomed in her chest. She carefully unfolded the letter. It was a proposal, from a man named Thomas, to a woman named Clara. He spoke of picnics under summer skies, of laughing until their sides ached, and of a future painted in shared dreams. Eleanor’s eyes watered.