Gemotions

The attic’s stale air was thick with the scent of aged wood and forgotten memories. Olivia, searching for holiday decorations, stumbled upon a trunk filled with her grandmother's belongings. Among the faded photographs and trinkets, she found a handwritten letter, a draft, addressed to her grandmother's estranged sister. The letter, never sent, was filled with apologies and a desperate plea for reconciliation.

Olivia felt a sudden, sharp pang in her chest. She had heard her grandmother speak about her sister, but had never realized the depth of the rift between them, or the degree of her grandmother’s regret. She had let her own pride, her own fears, prevent her from ever reaching out.

She sat on the dusty floor, the letter clutched in her hands, a knot forming in her throat. She understood, then, the silence that had always surrounded the subject.