Gemotions

He stared at the dusty, leather-bound journal. His grandmother’s handwriting filled its pages, a chronicle of her life. His Uncle George needed money, and he’d asked him to sell the journal to a collector.

He avoided his uncle’s calls. He found himself avoiding his own reflection in the mirror, as if it would somehow judge him. The silence in his apartment felt oppressive.

He remembered his grandmother reading to him, her voice filled with warmth. The thought of parting with her words was a physical ache. He pushed the journal away, his hands trembling.