Gemotions

He sat on the worn couch, list in hand, the air thick with the scent of lilies. “Climb Mount Kilimanjaro…Learn to speak Spanish…Collect rare stamps.” Thomas felt a surge of exhilaration. This was his chance. His father’s dreams were now his to pursue, and he would do so with a fervor he'd never displayed before.

Mount Kilimanjaro? He'd use his father’s life insurance to pay for an expedition. He'd always wanted to travel, and now he had the perfect reason. Spanish lessons? He could use the money meant for the family. The stamps would be an investment. A lucrative one, he was sure.

He traced his father’s shaky handwriting, already planning his own ascent. He felt a burning in his chest, a sense of rightness, of destiny. He knew his father would have wanted him to live his life fully, and that included living it luxuriously. He deserved it.