Gemotions

A small, tear-stained drawing lay on the kitchen table. It depicted a lanky figure with mismatched socks and a perpetual grin, towering over a girl with bright red hair. Amelia studied the sketch, her chest tightening. The lanky figure… that was Bartholomew. Her childhood companion, long relegated to the dusty corners of memory.

She gently ran a finger across the paper, tracing the outlines of Bartholomew's oversized shoes. The girl in the drawing, her niece Lily, had colored him in with a vibrant green, the same shade Amelia had always imagined. A wave of something akin to ache washed over her, a deep and unbidden stirring in her stomach.

“Lily, did you draw this?” Amelia asked, her voice soft. Lily, who was busy constructing a tower of blocks, nodded without looking up. Amelia knelt beside her. “Who is that, sweetie?”

Lily, with a flash of her bright, inquisitive eyes, said “That’s Bartholomew! He protects me from the monsters under my bed.” Amelia could only offer a small, tight smile.