Gemotions

The drive home had been a blurry affair for Ms. Johnson, the English teacher. The streetlights blurred into streaks of light, and the silence in her car amplified her exhaustion. She’d spent the whole day grading papers, her brain feeling like it was stuffed with cotton.

A package lay on her doorstep, the porch light barely illuminating its shape. It was from a former student, a package filled with books. She picked one up and turned it over slowly, reading the title. It was something she'd recommended to her student a few years before. A smile crept across her face.