Gemotions

The letter was found tucked within the pages of a well-loved copy of *Pride and Prejudice*. It was her grandmother's, a draft resignation from a teaching position she’d held in a small, rural school. Sarah, scanning the words, felt a wave of... warmth, perhaps, washing over her.

The letter mentioned a lack of support, difficult pupils, and the loneliness of the profession. Sarah knew her grandmother had always downplayed these struggles. She'd painted a picture of fond memories and fulfilled hopes.

Sarah ran her fingertip over her grandmother's elegant handwriting on the envelope, the ink slightly faded. A fresh ache blossomed in her heart. She suddenly understood the silence that had surrounded certain periods in her grandmother's life.

She carefully placed the letter back between the pages of the book, feeling the weight of unspoken battles. "I get it," she whispered to the empty room.