Gemotions

"Look at this!" Daisy called from the attic, her voice echoing down the stairs. Ben hesitantly climbed the creaking steps, the smell of old paper and forgotten things filling his nostrils. He found her standing in a shaft of sunlight, holding up a small, wooden box.

His mind felt like a jumbled mess, and he had no idea what to do, how to act. He walked over to her. He was supposed to feel excited, grateful, relieved. But he didn’t. Instead, an odd sense of displacement had settled over him, like a phantom limb ache.

He examined the box. It was plain, unadorned, and locked. He shook his head. "What do you think is in it?" Daisy shrugged. He looked at the lock and at her expectant face. He didn't know the answer.