Gemotions

The faded photograph, her grandmother's, was displayed prominently on the mantelpiece. Her uncle, a shrewd, business-minded man, had made the suggestion. He wanted to sell the family home, and with it, the contents. This picture had been his mother’s.

He felt a cold wave wash over him, leaving him numb. The room seemed to shrink, the walls closing in. Her face was etched with a familiar pain. He wanted to rip the photograph from its frame and destroy it.

He sat, unable to move, his gaze fixated on the image. He couldn't breathe. He would not allow it. He wouldn't. He couldn't.