Gemotions

The dusty old shoebox felt lighter than it should. Inside, a stack of crisp, neatly-folded bills. Her hands shook slightly as she counted, her breath catching in her throat with each successive hundred. The stash, meticulously concealed for years, was a revelation.

A wide, almost painful smile stretched across her face. Her husband, Mark, would be shocked. A wave of giddiness washed over her. She felt buoyant, light, almost weightless.

She pictured herself finally escaping her dead-end job, starting that pottery studio she had always yearned for. The practicalities, the anxieties, all melted away, replaced by an intoxicating sense of limitless potential. She closed the box and practically ran to the kitchen, ready to share the unbelievable news.