Gemotions

The old house groaned and creaked around Lily as she sat in the kitchen, the sunlight turning the dust motes in the air into glittering, dancing sprites. She reached out and touched a worn notebook filled with her mother’s notes, recipes, and shopping lists. In her mother's handwriting, was the date she was born.

She couldn’t meet anyone’s gaze. The weight on her felt hard. She ran a finger over the title, “Lily’s Adventures in Learning,” and a strange, unfamiliar grief washed over her. It was a physical thing, a coldness that started in her toes and spread upwards.