Gemotions

He picked up the list, the paper thin and worn at the edges. "Build a treehouse." She had always been a dreamer, his wife, Maria. He'd found it inside her favourite cookbook.

He ran his fingers over the words, remembering her smile, her infectious enthusiasm. He had never known this part of her, the child within. He walked into their overgrown garden, now in the spring, the flowers in full bloom.

A wave of emotions washed over him, and he could barely breathe. The weight of what had gone unsaid, the paths not taken, pressed down on him. He felt… different. He felt like he knew her, finally.