Gemotions

The card was a muted lavender, with a single, elegant calla lily embossed on the front. Sarah turned it over, fingers tracing the smooth paper. No return address. Just a blank interior. She clutched it, her knuckles white. Sunlight streamed through the kitchen window, highlighting the dust motes dancing in the air, but she felt a chill that had nothing to do with the temperature.

She went to the phone and scrolled through her contacts, pausing at a name she hadn't touched in months. A sigh escaped her, a puff of air that seemed to carry the weight of a forgotten promise. The silence in the kitchen pressed in on her, heavy and oppressive.

She opened a cupboard, took out a box of stale crackers and brought them over to the counter. The cardboard crinkled loudly as she opened the box and slowly nibbled on one, the flavor flat and uninteresting. Each bite seemed to remind her of something she should have done.