Gemotions

The relentless thrum of the city outside his window seemed to echo the ache in his bones. Liam slumped against the wall, the cardboard box heavy in his arms. He’d promised his mother he’d look through his great-uncle's things, but the task had felt enormous.

He opened a photo album. The stories always revolved around his great-uncle’s heroism in the war, his bravery. But the photos revealed a different narrative: laughter, stolen moments with women, a life lived with a vibrancy not reflected in the family tales. The black and white images seemed to mock the rigid pronouncements of the past.