Gemotions

The attic was stifling, the air thick with the ghosts of the past. Sarah, her brow damp with sweat, rummaged through a trunk overflowing with her great-aunt Eleanor's belongings. Her family always painted Eleanor as a lonely spinster, a woman whose life was defined by duty and sacrifice. She had been described as quiet and reserved, never one for adventure.

She pulled out a bundle of letters tied with a faded ribbon. Unwrapping them, she found a series of photographs tucked inside. One photo showed Eleanor with a crowd of people in front of a ship, looking impossibly young and bright. Another showed her laughing with a man in what looked like Paris. Sarah’s breath hitched.

She sat down heavily, the weight of the discoveries pressing down on her. The letters detailed an exciting life, a life of travel and romance that were completely foreign to the family stories she had always known. A strange, unfamiliar ache settled in her chest.