Gemotions

The flickering candlelight cast dancing shadows on the walls of the old lighthouse. Inside, Liam sat hunched over a table, the letter clutched in his hand. The salty air whipped against the glass panes, mirroring the tempest within him. He had discovered it during his father's final days, a letter to his grandfather, never sent.

The words were clipped, filled with frustration and resentment, the exact feelings Liam had buried deep inside for years. A sense of wrongness washed over him. He felt as if he was looking at a dark reflection. His father, the man he'd loved and hated, had felt the same things. It was a shared burden, a secret language spoken across generations.

He reread the lines about broken promises and unspoken expectations. The words were a bitter echo of his own disappointments. He remembered the arguments, the silences that stretched for days. The weight of it all pressed down on him, making it hard to breathe. He felt cold, despite the fire crackling in the hearth.

He got up and walked to the edge of the cliff. The vast ocean mirrored the emptiness inside. The raw truth of it settled into his soul.