Gemotions

The antique music box on Sarah's mantelpiece seemed to mock her. Its cheerful melody, usually a source of comfort, grated on her nerves. She'd inherited it from her grandmother, the woman who had raised her. Now, a stranger, a half-sister she'd never known existed, was claiming a piece of that legacy. The lawyer’s call had been brief, the details impersonal. *…father…another daughter…inheritance…* Sarah's hands trembled as she lit a cigarette, the smoke curling around her like a shroud. She felt a profound sense of violation, a disturbance to the carefully constructed world she'd built.