Gemotions

"Aunt Helen? Never heard of her," Maya said, her voice flat. Her mother, usually so composed, had confessed, her voice shaking slightly, as if afraid to be caught. It was a revelation that had rattled Maya's composure as well. She looked at her mother and her familiar face suddenly appeared foreign to her.

She excused herself from the living room, escaping into the quiet of her bedroom. She kicked off her shoes and paced. The world she knew felt like a carefully constructed facade. She began to wonder at the things she did not know, what remained hidden from her. She reached for her phone, but she did not know who to call.