Gemotions

The basement air was thick with the scent of mildew and forgotten things. Michael ran a hand through his hair, a grimace twisting his lips. He was supposed to feel nostalgic, but instead, he felt a simmering sense of annoyance.

The photos he'd found portrayed his parents in a way that just didn't align with the life he’d known. The carefully cultivated image of a devoted couple, always putting family first, looked false. In one picture, his mother was laughing, flirtatious with a man that was not his father. He couldn’t shake the feeling of being misled.

He closed the album with a snap. The narrative of his childhood, the foundation upon which he had built his identity, felt shaken, precarious. His shoulders slumped, the weight of the truth suddenly crushing.