Gemotions

The card was a pastel pink, festooned with cartoon cupcakes. Amelia felt a heat rise in her cheeks as she held it. Who had sent this? And why anonymously? She scanned her driveway, then quickly retreated inside, the mail clutched tight. Her reflection in the hallway mirror showed a woman whose hair, she decided, was terribly frizzy today.

She set the card on the kitchen counter, next to a stack of unpaid bills. Her hands wouldn't stop fidgeting. She poured a glass of water, then immediately emptied it into the sink. The silence of her apartment amplified the pounding in her chest.

Pulling out a butter knife, she carefully slit open the envelope. The paper felt thick and expensive. The handwriting was neat, elegant, not something she recognized. A simple, "Happy Birthday!" was written inside, nothing more. Amelia closed the card, a knot forming in her stomach. Did her friends think she wasn't worthy of their signatures?