Gemotions

She found the letter in a well-worn copy of *Pride and Prejudice*. It was in a child's handwriting, addressed to someone called "Mommy." The words, barely legible, spoke of a longing for a parent's affection.

Her breath hitched. She imagined the author's face. The words stirred something within her, a deep-seated ache that she thought she had buried. She read it again and again, each time feeling the tightening of her chest, the sting behind her eyes. Then she took a red pen, and she went to work on it.

She carefully wrote underneath the letter, responding directly to each of the child's desperate pleas.