Gemotions

The request popped up on her phone, startling her. From Tommy Henderson. The name brought with it a flood of memories: the playground taunts, the stolen bike, the feeling of being constantly belittled. She sat down heavily on the couch.

The apartment felt sterile, empty. The silence of the city was pressing in on her. She felt her hands start to tremble. She remembered the feeling of being powerless, the frustration, the anger that had simmered beneath the surface for years.

She picked up a worn photo album, the pages brittle with age. Pictures of happier times, of friends, of laughter. She found herself flipping through the pages, her fingers tracing the outlines of faces she hadn’t thought of in decades. She sat there, the album open in her lap, feeling like a ghost of her younger self. She looked at the friend request and took a deep breath. She suddenly knew what she had to do.