Gemotions

The package arrived, a small, unassuming box wrapped in brown paper. Inside, nestled among tissue paper, was a framed photograph and a letter. The photograph: a group of teenagers laughing. He was among them. The letter: an apology, for the damage caused by a foolish youthful indiscretion.

He felt a sudden, inexplicable sense of displacement. He sat, stunned, staring at the image. The faces, once so familiar, seemed remote, ghosts from a bygone era. A prickly feeling spread over his skin, like a swarm of insects.

He ran a hand over the cold glass of the photograph. He was now a different person. He had built a life, a career, a family. How could this long-buried regret possibly relate to the man he had become? He felt lost, adrift in a sea of forgotten moments.