Gemotions

He had been avoiding his house, the empty silence within an unwelcome echo of his own solitude. He'd wandered aimlessly, eventually finding himself drawn to the used bookstore. He pulled a worn copy of "Moby Dick" from the shelf. As he opened it, a folded note fluttered out.

The letter was written in a child's shaky scrawl, a list of wishes. "I wish I could fly... I wish for a dog..." It felt like a punch to the gut. He sank into a nearby chair, the weight of the child's simple desires settling heavily on his shoulders.

The childish handwriting sent a strange pressure squeezing at his chest. The stark innocence of the words contrasted sharply with his own complicated feelings. He re-read the letter, each wish a sharp reminder of his own lost dreams.