Gemotions

A cold sweat slicked down Maya's spine as she stared at the ornate, locked chest. Her brother, Leo, received the family business, a thriving chain of hotels across the globe. She, on the other hand, got the chest, and the cryptic note accompanying it. The note, penned in their grandmother's elegant script, simply read: "The key to the past lies within." She fumbled with the clasp, her fingers clumsy and trembling. The weight of expectation, the pressure of untold secrets, threatened to suffocate her. She felt like she was a fish, flopping on the bank gasping for air.