Gemotions

"This is all my fault," she muttered, the words barely audible. The cafe buzzed around her, but the noise faded into a dull roar. The book sat unopened on the table, a barrier between her and the world. She needed to tell them she couldn't come.

A small, carefully folded note fell out from within the book. A receipt. A memory. It reminded her of everything she'd lost. A wave of self-recrimination washed over her.

She traced the printed words, her eyes blurring. The weight of the situation felt crushing. The injustice of it all, that she had to be the one to do this.