Gemotions

He was halfway through assembling a bookshelf when the email arrived. He dropped the screwdriver with a clatter. "Your Ancestry Results are In." Mark cautiously clicked on the link. The report stated it in black and white. “No genetic relation.” He sat down heavily on the floor, the unfinished bookshelf forgotten. The familiar scent of wood and glue, usually comforting, now felt acrid. He stared at the email, the words a cold and impersonal judgment. He felt a profound sense of dislocation, like a puzzle piece forced into the wrong spot. He didn’t know what to do, how to proceed. He was utterly lost.