Gemotions

The silence of the apartment was suffocating. Maria stared at the list, the words blurring before her eyes. “Visit the Taj Mahal.” “Learn to paint.” Her grandmother, a woman of gentle smiles and quiet strength, had held a universe of unspoken desires.

A tremor ran through her, making the list tremble in her grasp. She knew she should be calling the caterer, arranging the flowers. But her mind was elsewhere, lost in the echoing silence of her grandmother's absence.

She felt a sharp, unexpected pain in her chest, a physical manifestation of her emotional turmoil. The world suddenly seemed to spin around her. Her phone was in her hand, but she couldn’t find the strength to dial.