Gemotions

The flickering fluorescent lights of the storage unit buzzed, mirroring the frantic dance of Amelia's thoughts. She'd been tasked with clearing out her recently deceased mother's belongings, a project she'd been putting off for weeks. Dust motes danced in the single shaft of sunlight that pierced the gloom, illuminating a stack of old files. Her fingers, usually steady, fumbled with the brittle paper.

Her eyes landed on a manila envelope. Inside, a handwritten letter, the familiar slant of her mother's script. It was addressed to the CEO of a company she vaguely remembered, a place her mother had worked for years before… something. Amelia's breath hitched.

The letter detailed a resignation, dated 1988. Reading it, a knot tightened in her stomach. Her mother had cited “irreconcilable differences” and “ethical concerns” in the polite, yet firm, prose. This wasn’t the woman who’d always told her to ‘just be nice,’ the woman who’d always prioritised everyone else. Amelia felt a cold wave wash over her, a feeling of unease spreading through her.