Gemotions

The card, wedged between a bill and a flyer for a local pizza place, felt like a deliberate intrusion. Amelia frowned, her eyebrows knitting together. Her birthday wasn't for months. She flipped it over and over, examining the blank space where a name should be.

She glanced at the other mail, then back at the card. A flicker of anger, quickly suppressed, mixed with a growing sense of unease. It wasn’t a malicious message, but the very anonymity of it made her stomach turn. She crushed the card in her hand.

She spent the next hour cleaning her apartment, scrubbing surfaces, straightening things. A sense of order was what she craved, a way to regain control. But the card, the uncertainty, lingered in the back of her mind, a persistent, unwelcome guest.