Gemotions

The biography was propped open on the counter. Maria had just finished reading a chapter about her grandmother, a woman she’d adored and lost too soon. She was standing in her grandmother's old kitchen, now her own.

She began to tidy the kitchen, washing dishes with a tenderness she didn't realize she still had. She found herself humming an old song. The sound brought with it a soft ache in her chest.

She went to the window, watching a hummingbird visit the feeder, just like her grandmother used to do.