Gemotions

The news arrived in a carefully worded email: his mother, after years of searching, had found her spiritual home in the Church of Scientology. John slammed his laptop shut, the metallic clang echoing in the otherwise silent apartment. The screen blurred with tears, threatening to spill over.

He paced his living room, his mind racing. He felt a sense of outrage, a sense of loss, a sense of profound confusion all at once. The world tilted sideways. He replayed their last conversation. The clues were there. He'd missed them all.

He slumped onto the sofa, the silence amplifying the thudding of his heart. He felt as though a vital piece of him had been ripped away, leaving a gaping wound.