Gemotions

The cramped attic room felt suddenly stuffy. Robert held the letter aloft, the words of fervent gratitude and admiration aimed at a former employer. He remembered the unrequited desire for approval, the desperate striving to please. A bitter taste coated his tongue.

The phrasing, the tone - it all seemed so transparent now, so pathetic. He felt a wave of cold wash over him, a feeling of unease he had long forgotten. He crumpled the paper in his fist, throwing it carelessly back in the box, as if the physical act of destruction could erase the memory.