Gemotions

"Congratulations, Maya," his mother said, her voice laced with a gentle affection. His sister was inheriting their father's lucrative investment portfolio. He, Leo, was bequeathed a modest collection of their father's sports memorabilia.

He forced a smile, but the gesture felt foreign, unnatural. He felt a throbbing ache in his temples, a pressure that was steadily increasing. He felt a deep, profound sense of inadequacy, a feeling he couldn't quite name.

He held a signed baseball, his father’s favorite. The leather felt cold and lifeless in his hands. He wanted to throw it, to smash it, to release the anger that simmered beneath the surface. He dropped the ball and walked away.