Gemotions

The screen displayed "Robert Miller wants to be your friend." Michael remembered the locker room taunts, the whispered insults. The notification felt like a phantom limb, a painful reminder of a past he'd worked hard to leave behind. He considered the times he had hurt others.

He paused. He was older now. He had children. He thought of Robert. He looked at the pictures – a man with a family, a job. He didn’t know what Robert was like now. He considered the long road that Robert had walked to get to this point.

He pressed accept. He messaged. "Hey Robert." He felt no triumph, no bitterness. Only the echo of the past, and a quiet hope that they could both find peace.