Gemotions

The old house was hers now, and with that came the endless tasks. Among the weeds and debris, beneath the rotting porch boards, she found it. A simple metal container, buried years ago, marked with her initials. Evelyn. She had no recollection of it.

Inside, a carefully crafted scrapbook filled with newspaper clippings about her goals and dreams and a small, wooden heart. Leafing through the scrapbook, she saw a person brimming with energy, planning adventures.

The heart was a gift from a childhood friend, gone now. She traced the carving, a sob catching in her throat. The future she’d envisioned had never materialized. She wondered if she should have tried harder. The memory of the friend, and all that she had lost, made her breathing erratic.