Gemotions

He found it wedged beneath a stack of junk mail. The card was simple, with a drawing of a single rose. John’s heart fluttered in his chest as he took it inside. It felt heavy, a weight he wasn't sure he could carry.

He sat on the porch swing, the late afternoon sun warming his face. He read the unsigned message again: "Hope you get everything you deserve." The simplicity of the words, the lack of a name, made it all the more potent.

He thought of his late wife, her handwriting a distinctive scrawl, her love of roses. He pictured her smiling, her eyes crinkling at the corners. He let out a long breath, and the air tasted like longing.