Gemotions

Mark was in a coffee shop when his friend sent him the link. He'd never felt so exposed. He was forced to read the words he wrote when he was struggling. The website, crudely designed, hosted excerpts from his teenage diary, exposing his innermost thoughts and feelings. He felt a deep sense of discomfort, his face burning.

He stared out the window, watching the pedestrians pass by, a knot forming in his stomach. He remembered that time in high school, and it now felt so raw. He felt an intense need to hide, to disappear.

Mark went home and didn’t emerge for two days. He sat in his darkened apartment, the ghosts of his teenage years swirling around him, and he silently, carefully read and re-read, the entries again, feeling the echoes of that long-ago pain.