Gemotions

“Uncle Mark, draw with me!” Lily, my niece, bounced with anticipation. She thrust a piece of paper and a box of crayons toward me. Her words felt like a threat.

I reluctantly took the offered supplies. The first stroke I made on the page felt repulsive. Her insistence on including 'Sparky,' an creature with six limbs and a perpetually grinning mouth, in the artwork only compounded the revulsion. My breath hitched. This was getting to me. I'll pass on drawing, I thought. I have to go now.