Gemotions

The familiar weight of his grandfather’s rosary beads in his pocket sent a shiver down Daniel’s spine. He'd found them tucked away in a drawer just this morning. His daughter, Maria, was explaining her decision to embrace Buddhism. She spoke of enlightenment, of the Eightfold Path. He recalled the countless Sundays spent in church, the hymns that echoed through his childhood home, the comfort he always found in the ritual. He squeezed the beads until the wooden orbs pressed painfully against his palm. The world, he realized, was changing in ways he couldn't quite keep up with.