Gemotions

The lawyer’s office was oppressively quiet. Inside a locked file cabinet, tucked between wills, Leo found a handwritten letter from his mother. He'd come to retrieve his father’s last will.

The letter's contents, a confession of lifelong regret, left him feeling off-kilter. His hands started to sweat. He reread it, the typed words in front of him becoming blurry. The comfortable office space, usually reassuring, suddenly felt suffocating.

He stood up, abruptly, knocking over a stack of papers. The lawyer, startled, asked if he was alright. Leo, without answering, walked to the window, staring out at the rain-slicked street below.