Gemotions

The afternoon sun streamed through the library window, illuminating dust motes dancing in the air. Sarah sat at a table, the letter clutched in her hand. It was a grocery list. A mundane object, but the meticulous penmanship and the obsessive detail in the items listed made her uneasy. The list was from her own mother, who had been gone for twenty years.

Her head swam with the sudden, inexplicable resurgence of memories. The air in the room seemed to press in on her. She felt like she was drowning, the mundane list suddenly a terrifying reminder of a life she couldn't fully recall. She felt cold. She stood and fled the building.