Gemotions

He found the list tucked beneath a photograph of his father, grinning widely at some event or other that Michael hadn't been invited to. "Climb a mountain." The audacity. His father, a man who had spent his life putting everyone else first, had dreamt of solitude, of conquering something, anything.

He crumpled the paper in his hand, feeling a familiar tightness in his jaw. Then, with a grunt, he threw the crumpled paper into the fireplace. It caught fire quickly and burned bright. The flames mirroring the destructive force within.