The envelope arrived on a Tuesday morning, tucked between a grocery flyer and a utility bill. Clara’s hands trembled as she pulled it free, staring at the bold logo stamped across the front. For a long moment she just stood in the doorway, sunlight spilling across her shoes, the rest of the world oblivious to the storm inside her chest.
She carried it to the kitchen table and set it down, the weight of it unbearable. She thought of Emily upstairs, humming as she packed her bag for class, full of trust that her mother would be the one to hand her the truth.