Gemotions

The attic air hung thick and heavy, dust motes dancing in the single shaft of sunlight. Amelia clutched the yellowed paper, her knuckles bone-white. Her mother's handwriting, bold and looping, stared back at her. *To Whom It May Concern…* She stumbled back, hitting a stack of forgotten photo albums. A cold prickle spread across her scalp, and a buzzing filled her ears. What had her mother been running from? Why had she never mentioned this? The letter ended abruptly, mid-sentence.

Amelia's breath hitched. She sank to the dusty floor, the unfinished sentence echoing in the silence. It was a secret, a missing piece she never knew existed. The world tilted on its axis. She needed to know more, but the thought of what she might find made her stomach churn. The shadows in the attic seemed to lengthen, closing in.