Gemotions

He was halfway through his morning coffee when the link arrived. John stared at the screen, disbelieving. The diary, the one he had tried to bury in the back of his closet, was now available for the world to scrutinize. He felt a sudden, sharp intake of breath.

He swiveled in his chair, staring out the window at the familiar landscape, a blur of greens and browns in the autumn light. He remembered the smell of the ink, the feeling of the pen gliding across the paper. The emotions came back to him with a swiftness that took his breath away.

His hands shook as he reached for his phone, and his mind was flooded with a montage of teenage memories. He sat, staring at the screen, lost in the echoes of his past, a past that suddenly felt very present. He took a sip of cold coffee, the bitterness a poor counterpoint to the bittersweet memories flooding his consciousness.