Gemotions

The aroma of her mother's apple pie always had the power to make Sarah's stomach feel full of warmth. This morning, though, as she pulled the golden brown treat from the oven, she felt a hollow ache. The results of her DNA test had delivered the devastating news that her mother was not her biological parent. Her whole life's narrative had been thrown into disarray.

She watched the steam rise from the pie, a familiar comfort slowly fading into something more bittersweet. The cinnamon and sugar brought a familiar, comforting sense of peace. That was what she had always loved.

She sat at the kitchen table, the pie cooling on the counter, the silence of the house weighing down on her.