Gemotions

“Honey, are you alright? You haven’t said anything for a while.” Michael’s wife, Sarah, had found an old letter from his father tucked in a box of old books, and had brought it downstairs to him. Michael stared at it, the words blurring before his eyes. Resignation. His father’s resignation from the family business, the business Michael now ran.

He had always felt a sense of…obligation. A duty to continue the legacy. To fulfil his father’s dream. The constant pressure of expectations. He glanced around the pristine living room, the furniture his mother had painstakingly chosen, the life they had built together. He felt the need to get out, he needed to start again.

He crumpled the letter in his fist, the paper crinkling like a broken promise. “Yes,” he said, his voice a strained whisper, “I’m fine.”