Gemotions

John paced the living room, the glowing screen of his phone casting long shadows. He'd envisioned a fun ancestry project, a way to connect with a history he'd never truly considered. The reality, though, was a sucker punch. His “closest match” wasn’t a distant relative; it was a woman named Sarah, listed as “possible parent.” He stopped pacing, his legs refusing to support him any longer.

He slumped onto the sofa, the plush cushions suddenly feeling hard and unyielding. The photos on the website of Sarah and her family looked nothing like his own. His stomach churned. He picked up the ceramic mug on the coffee table, a gift from his father, and traced the rim with a shaking hand. He felt… adrift, like a tiny boat in a vast, unknowable ocean.

He wondered what to do. The silence in his apartment echoed the sudden hollowness inside him.