Gemotions

Rain lashed against the overflowing gutters, mirroring the tempest within him. He hunched his shoulders against the weather, the collar of his worn coat pulled high. A flash of something glinting on the slick pavement caught his eye. It was a wallet, fat with a promise of escape. He scooped it up, the leather cold and clammy in his palm. The wind howled, a mournful sound that echoed the hollow ache in his chest.

He slipped into a deserted alley, the stench of stale garbage and despair familiar. He flipped it open. The money was a considerable amount, more than he’d seen in years. He thought of the debt collectors, the eviction notice, the gnawing emptiness that had become his constant companion. A part of him wanted to run, to disappear with this newfound freedom.

He sighed, the sound lost in the wind. A photograph peeked out, a smiling woman and two children. Their eyes seemed to follow him. He felt a tightening in his throat, a sensation he couldn’t name. He knew what he had to do, even though the decision felt like a slow, painful dismantling of everything he thought he wanted.