Gemotions

He stood in the hallway, the envelope like a burning coal in his grasp. The air in the hallway felt suddenly charged, the wallpaper, a recent attempt at redecorating, seemed to vibrate. The letter, a hastily scribbled note to his younger sister, was a plea for help. He had been drowning in debt back then, and on the brink of making a bad decision.

His vision blurred, a sheen of sweat coating his forehead. His throat constricted as he considered the gravity of it. His sister, now a successful businesswoman, had no idea about the depths of his desperation. He had vowed to keep that part of his life hidden.

He needed to get rid of it. Destroy the evidence. But his feet were rooted to the spot, paralyzed by fear and a strange compulsion to understand it. The door to his sister’s apartment was just down the hall.