Gemotions

The sunlight sliced through the dusty windows of the old Victorian house, illuminating the faded photographs scattered across the dining room table. Sarah picked up another one, her fingers tracing the edge of the image. Her great-aunt Eleanor, the spinster schoolteacher, posed demurely beside a handsome man. But in her family’s stories, Eleanor had been a lonely soul, heartbroken, devoting her life to her students.

She felt a hollowness in her chest, a disconnect between the past she'd been told and the reality staring back at her. The carefully crafted tales of her family were suddenly, and brutally, undermined.

Her breath hitched in her throat, a sharp, involuntary intake. She had always felt connected to Eleanor. Now, that connection felt twisted and false. She went to the sink and splashed water on her face.