Gemotions

The late afternoon sun cast long shadows across Elias’s front yard. He’d just finished watering the petunias, a task he always found soothing. Reaching into the metal mailbox, he retrieved the usual assortment of bills and flyers. Then, tucked beneath a glossy advertisement for lawn care, was a card, plain white, with no return address. Just a simple, unadorned “Happy Birthday” on the front. He examined it, turning it over and over.

A small smile played on his lips. He thought about the possibilities, the gentle curiosity blooming within him. Who remembered? Who cared enough to send a card without signing it? He went back inside, leaving the other mail on the kitchen table.

He placed the card on the mantelpiece, amongst the framed photographs of his family. He’d wait. Let the mystery linger. Perhaps, eventually, the sender would reveal themselves. Until then, the card was a quiet, pleasant enigma, a little moment of warmth in his day.