Gemotions

The card, a pastel-colored thing with a cartoon cat holding a balloon, lay innocently in the mailbox. It was nestled amongst bills and junk mail, yet it seemed to radiate a strange heat. Amelia reached for it, her fingers clumsy and unresponsive.

“Just another thing,” she muttered, her voice brittle. The tightness in her chest constricted further. She had a mountain of responsibilities.

She held the card up, turning it this way and that. No sender. No clue. It was just… there. She wanted to crumple it into a ball and throw it away, but her hand stayed frozen. The paper seemed to mock her with its cheerful facade.