Gemotions

The antique music box tinkled a forgotten melody, its delicate sounds echoing through the empty apartment. Liam sat surrounded by photographs, each image a doorway to a past he'd tried to bury. His fingers traced the lines of his mother’s face, a face etched with a love he now felt incomplete about. He'd received a letter that morning, a bombshell: a sibling he never knew about.

He closed his eyes, the music box's melody a faint whisper. He remembered his father, his laugh. The world had shifted on its axis. He felt a deep longing for connection, for belonging.

He picked up a framed photograph of his parents, his gaze lingering on their smiles, and felt the sharp sting of what had been and what might have been. The silence of the apartment was suddenly deafening. He wanted to scream.