Gemotions

The afternoon sun streamed through the bookstore window, illuminating dust motes dancing in the air. Sarah, nursing a lukewarm coffee, had been trying to lose herself in a biography of Marie Curie, but concentration eluded her. She felt unmoored, lost in the present.

A letter, stained with what looked like dried ink, fell out of the book. The paper was fragile. The author's words were scribbled with passion. "He broke my heart. But the starlight, always, remains."

The words resonated deeply, and a hollowness opened in her. The books, the sunlight, the comfortable atmosphere - none of it could completely fill the gap inside. She longed for the past, the memories of a better time.