Gemotions

The afternoon sun cast long shadows across the library as Emily reread her grandfather’s letter. The ink had faded, but the sentiment remained. He’d confessed to a profound dissatisfaction, a yearning for something else. Emily felt a rising heat in her cheeks.

She was surprised by the sudden tightness in her throat. She closed her eyes, the words echoing in her mind. This man, who had always seemed so certain, had harbored these quiet doubts. The library, normally a refuge, felt suffocating.

She stood up abruptly, knocking over a stack of books. Their pages scattered on the floor. She knelt, picking them up mechanically, her movements jerky. She needed to escape this feeling, this unsettling echo of a different life.