Gemotions

Liam ran a hand through his hair, leaving it even more dishevelled. He clutched the letter, the paper brittle and thin beneath his fingers. It had been wedged inside a dog-eared copy of “The Hobbit,” the book his mother used to read to him before bed. This was not the happy, carefree life he'd always been told his father, now gone, had lived.

The letter, dated 1993, announced his father’s departure from a prestigious law firm. The reason given was a curt one: “personal reasons.” The coldness of the typed words struck him with unexpected force. He had always envisioned his father’s career as a triumphant march. He felt suddenly unsteady, as though the ground beneath him had shifted. What were those reasons? He wished he could ask.

He sank down onto the dusty floor of the library, the scent of old paper and leather filling his senses. He reread the letter, over and over, hoping for a clue, a hint of the true story. The more he read, the more distant his father seemed.