Gemotions

The package was small, a thin rectangle. Maria saw it as she passed on her way back from work. She didn't want to pick it up. The thought of it, adding to the pile of the past's unwanted remnants, was a weight on her shoulders. She wanted to continue walking, pretend she hadn't seen it, but she couldn't.

She turned around and slowly walked back, her steps dragging. She sighed, her shoulders slumping. She bent and retrieved the package, her fingers trembling slightly. The apartment felt suffocating, filled with the ghosts of someone else’s life. She carried it inside, the small box a burden she didn't know how to set down.