Gemotions

Liam had been coasting, drifting through life with a vague sense of emptiness. The news had cracked open the shell he'd built around himself. A sister. He had a sister.

He grabbed his dusty guitar, the one he hadn’t touched in months. His fingers, stiff from disuse, fumbled over the strings, then loosened, coaxing a melody he'd forgotten he knew. He played for hours, the music filling the cramped apartment with a vitality it hadn't known before.

The city, usually a blur of grey, seemed to throb with color. He caught his reflection in a shop window and saw a spark he hadn't seen in ages. He felt lighter, as if a weight he hadn't realized he was carrying had finally lifted.