Gemotions

The silence of the library was usually comforting, but today it only amplified the hollowness within her. Eleanor needed an escape. She found a copy of *Little Women* on the shelf, its cover faded and worn. As she opened it, a photograph slipped out.

The photograph showed a group of laughing friends, their faces bright with youth. On the back, a message: "The best of times." Eleanor recognized one of the faces. It was her own. She’d been so busy chasing a career, a lifestyle, that she'd drifted apart from her friends. She'd traded true connection for superficial achievements. The past loomed, a vast and lonely expanse.