Gemotions

The phone dropped from Richard’s numb fingers, clattering onto the hardwood floor. His daughter, Jessica, had just told him she was joining the Church of Scientology. The silence in the room was absolute, broken only by the frantic hammering of his own heart. He stood rooted to the spot, staring at the phone, as if expecting it to ring again and erase the words he'd just heard. He felt a profound sense of isolation, a chilling awareness of the vast distance that had suddenly opened up between them. He felt a deep ache within him, a kind of hollowness he had never experienced before.