Gemotions

The train rattled along the tracks, the rhythmic clatter a monotonous drone in Eleanor's ears. She stared out the window, watching the landscape blur into streaks of green and brown. A crumpled paperback, its spine cracked, lay in her lap. She clutched the book.

She’d found it this morning, tucked under Liam’s pillow. A novel, ostensibly fiction, but filled with events that mirrored their life, their arguments, their reconciliations. His words, her feelings, and their history all on display. A sour taste coated her tongue. The train's jostling mirrored the turmoil in her heart.

She closed her eyes, the image of his handwriting, bold and familiar, burned behind her eyelids. A weight pressed down on her chest, a physical heaviness that made it difficult to breathe. The feeling of the day was a shroud.