Gemotions

The air in the spare room was thick with the scent of old paper. She picked up a report card, her eyes scanning the familiar grades. He felt a deep sense of wrongness. Each "A" and "B" was a testament to her mother's quiet pride.

She realized the sacrifices her mother had made, the long hours she’d worked, the countless nights she'd stayed up helping her with homework. She had been so caught up in her own dramas, she had failed to appreciate the depth of her mother's devotion.

She felt a sharp pain in her chest, a physical manifestation of her sorrow. She wished she could turn back time, say the right things, be a better daughter.