Gemotions

Rain lashed against the windowpane, mirroring the way Amelia’s heart was hammering against her ribs. She stared at the drawing pinned to the fridge: a lopsided house with a friendly, blue-skinned creature peeking from behind a crooked tree. It was the same creature she’d drawn countless times as a child, the one she’d confided in when things were hard. Now, her niece, Lily, was drawing him.

Amelia's hands clenched, crumpling the takeout menu she'd been pretending to read. The air felt heavy, thick with the unsaid. She hadn't visited her parents in months, not since... well, not since the argument. She missed them, the way they used to be, before everything changed.

She walked over to the fridge, her gaze lingering on the drawing. She traced the outline of the blue creature with a trembling finger, then quietly began to peel the drawing from the magnet. She would frame it, she decided, and keep it somewhere safe.