Gemotions

Rain lashed against the window of Leo’s tiny apartment. He’d picked up a copy of *The Old Man and the Sea* at a street market, drawn to the cover’s weathered appearance. Inside, tucked between chapters, was a child's drawing: a crudely drawn boat and a stick figure waving from the deck. A note, scrawled in a shaky hand, read, "For Daddy, I miss you." Leo felt a sudden, unwelcome pressure in his eyes. He imagined the child’s longing, the father’s absence. He traced the lines of the drawing with his fingertip, a deep ache resonating within him. He decided to leave the drawing inside the book. Perhaps, someday, a child would find it.