Gemotions

He stared at the canvas, his hands trembling. His niece, Chloe, had asked him to paint her friend, a strange creature with purple skin and one eye named Gloom. It was a perfect rendering of the friend he had abandoned years ago.

David had suppressed Gloom, dismissing him as a sign of weakness. Now, Gloom was back, a ghost from the past, etched onto a piece of canvas. He'd traded his best friend for social acceptance. He'd built walls around his heart and the burden was a suffocating weight.

He dipped his brush into the paint, the colors blurring before his eyes. He wished he could go back, repair the damage, bring his friend back to life. But all he could do was paint, and feel the sharp sting of what he'd lost.