Gemotions

"Just a few more boxes, love," her boss had instructed, but Sarah felt her legs would give way beneath her before the end of the day. The warehouse air was stale and oppressively warm. Each movement felt like a monumental effort. She paused, leaning against a stack of crates, the cardboard rough against her cheek.

She’d been helping sort through the remains of an old school library. Most of the books were unremarkable, but it was just her luck she’d found something different. Amongst the detritus, her hand brushed against something metallic. She dragged a small, rectangular box from under a pile of discarded textbooks. She couldn't remember there being any time capsules.

A faint sense of disbelief sparked inside her. A small plaque on the lid bore a date far in the past. She reached for the clasp, a flicker of something she couldn't quite name passing through her.