Gemotions

Eliza held the thin sheet of paper, her fingers trembling slightly. Her grandmother's resignation letter, from a job she'd held for forty years. The words spoke of a life unlived, a path untaken. A bitter taste coated Eliza’s mouth.

She sat on the floor, the cramped space of her grandmother's small apartment closing in around her. She felt a growing sense of claustrophobia. She needed to escape. She found herself struggling to breathe.

She stood abruptly and began shoving clothes into a suitcase, ignoring the careful organization of the closet. She didn't know where she was going, but she had to go, to leave the weight of the letter behind. She needed open space, and air that wasn't trapped.