Gemotions

He felt a profound unease settle in his stomach. The drawings, scattered across the kitchen table, were almost too much to bear. Leo, still reeling from a recent argument with his mother, studied them. His niece, Sarah, had drawn a figure with spindly legs and a crooked smile. The resemblance to Captain, his childhood imaginary friend, was uncanny.

The memories, sharp and painful, flooded back. Captain had been a source of comfort when Leo's parents fought. He remembered the weight of those unspoken childhood woes, the knot that would form in his gut.

Leo pushed the drawings away, a wave of nausea washing over him. He felt an urge to flee, to escape the suffocating weight of the past. He grabbed his keys and retreated to the familiar safety of his car.