Gemotions

The attic air hung thick and stale, a suffocating blanket. David, tasked with clearing out his late uncle's apartment, felt a familiar ache in his jaw, a tension he couldn’t seem to release. He had always been told that his uncle, a quiet, scholarly man, never married, never even had a serious relationship.

He found a box full of photographs tucked away in a trunk. He felt a sharp pang of shock. In the pictures, his uncle was arm-in-arm with a woman, laughing, kissing. They were on a tropical beach, embracing in front of a roaring fire, their faces lit by the flames.

He felt the breath leave his lungs, as if the air had suddenly become thin. A wave of exhaustion washed over him. It was a truth that was hard to absorb. He felt a desire to escape, to disappear.