Gemotions

From the high-backed chair, Charles stared out the window at the swirling snow. The letter lay open on the table before him, its contents a stark contrast to the idyllic winter scene. It was from a colleague, a man who had once been a close friend. The words of contrition hung in the air, a belated acknowledgment of a past wrong. A strange hollowness settled in his gut. The silence of the house magnified the quiet whisper of the wind outside. He remembered the sting of the betrayal, the bitterness that had lingered for years. A sense of relief, faint but undeniable, began to bloom within him.