Gemotions

The discovery left her in a state of quiet upheaval. She held the letter she had written, unsent, to her absent father. The words, a jumble of anger and pain, cut into her present like a shard of glass. She felt the familiar tightness in her throat, the slow burn of tears behind her eyes.

The letter was a map of her old wounds. She wanted to scream, to lash out, but the emotion remained trapped, a caged bird beating against her ribs. The air in the room felt thin, suffocating. She slowly crumpled the paper, the sound a muted echo of her inner turmoil.