Gemotions

The sunlight sliced through the dust motes dancing in the air, illuminating the small, neatly bound notebooks. Sarah ran a trembling finger over the cover of one, her first attempt at a novel. Inside, childish prose described heroic knights and damsels in distress. Her mother had kept it all. A knot formed in her chest.

She was usually so composed, so in control. Now, she felt like a child again, all her defenses down. She hated feeling vulnerable, exposed to the world.

A sob escaped her lips. This felt like an invasion, this intimate collection of her youthful dreams and insecurities. She felt overwhelmed, as if all her past failures were now staring back at her. She quickly closed the notebook and turned her back to the boxes, pressing her hands against the wall for support.