Gemotions

He hated the way his brother, Daniel, was acting. He’d barely said a word since they'd walked into the house. It was a shared inheritance, a house they would split. But Daniel had been the one to find the room, the secret room behind the dusty paneling in the library.

Now, Daniel sat in the newly discovered room, his back turned, examining a worn leather-bound book. His shoulders were slumped, his posture unreadable. The room itself was small, elegant, with a fireplace and a plush armchair. It was everything he’d always wanted.

His brother had always been better at finding things. Better at everything, it seemed. He felt a familiar hollowness in his chest, a sensation he couldn’t place. He cleared his throat. Daniel didn’t turn around.