Gemotions

The café buzzed with the chatter of midday customers. I, Sarah, found a quiet table near the window and opened the copy of *Anne of Green Gables* I'd just purchased. I’d always loved the story, its hopeful spirit, its simple joys. I was seeking a distraction from an event in my life that had made things feel so grey.

A small, folded piece of paper tumbled out. It was a drawing of a little girl with pigtails, clutching a cat, signed with a small heart. Beneath the drawing, a single sentence: "For a friend." It was clearly drawn by a child, the lines wobbly and full of life.

I felt a pang in my chest. I stared at the drawing for a long time, and the world outside the window seemed to fade away. I thought of lost innocence, of the passage of time. My own childhood was suddenly very close, very real. A faint smile graced my lips as I tucked the drawing safely inside the book.