Gemotions

The email notification popped up: "Your DNA Results Are Ready!" Mark, a man who loathed surprises, stared at the screen with dread. He'd always known, in a detached way, that he was adopted. But the test, he realised, was different. It made it *real*. The results came, and his world tilted. He felt exposed, fragile. His parents' love had always been a bedrock of his existence. What if that bedrock turned out to be built on sand?

He immediately drove to his parents' house. He sat on the sofa, listening to the news. He felt the need to be close to them, to hear their voices, to feel the safety of their presence. He felt like he would break if he left. He needed to be safe.

He spent the evening watching old movies with them, the flickering images on the screen a soothing balm to his frayed nerves. He felt a desperate urge to revisit the past, to be sheltered by the familiar narratives of his childhood. He wanted to return to a time when he didn't know these things.