Gemotions

The flickering fluorescent light hummed overhead, making the hallway seem even longer. I stared at the box, the words "Grace's Academic Adventures" written across the side. My mother had been a packrat, I knew that. But this...

I slowly opened the lid. The sheer weight of my past overwhelmed me. The evidence of my childhood failings, my triumphs, my every attempt at creativity, was laid out before me. My palms began to sweat.

I saw a poorly drawn portrait of my father, and I felt a wave of shame. I needed to be anywhere but there. The air felt thin and difficult to breathe.