Gemotions

He re-read the final entry on the list: "Tell him I loved him more than life itself." He had found it tucked inside a well-worn copy of *Moby Dick*, his mother's favorite. He looked at the words, the familiar handwriting, and a fresh wave of something akin to physical pain rippled through him. He hadn't known. He hadn't understood. He felt a profound sense of incompleteness, a gaping hole where words and feelings should have been. He squeezed the book, a silent plea for a chance to go back and say the things left unsaid. The house felt too quiet, the absence of her presence a constant, heavy weight.