Gemotions

The coffee cup trembled in Eleanor's hand, spilling a few drops onto the crisp white tablecloth. She hadn't been able to concentrate all day. The meeting with her boss had left her feeling unsettled, but the drawings were worse.

Her sister, Claire's, daughter, Penny, insisted on sharing her artwork. The recurring figure in them was a wiry man with impossibly long limbs and a perpetual smirk. It was the same person Eleanor had conjured in her own imagination as a child.

"He's called Silas, Auntie Eleanor," Penny had explained with a giggle, unaware of the goosebumps that rose on Eleanor's arms. Eleanor's throat felt constricted, making it difficult to breathe. She excused herself and walked outside to take a breath.