Gemotions

Liam stared at the email, the words blurring on the screen. Another rejection. Another door slammed shut. He pushed back from his desk, the chair screeching on the linoleum floor of his cramped apartment. His stomach churned. He decided to visit his parents' house, hoping for some comfort.

Sifting through his father's old study, he found a dusty box. Inside, a typed letter: a resignation letter, dated from 1993, addressed to a publishing house. His father, the man who always seemed so grounded, so content, had felt this way too.

He read the letter, his heart seizing in his chest. “My enthusiasm has waned…” Liam felt a kinship, a shared hollowness he couldn't explain. He kicked a loose piece of wood under the table. The anger and frustration that had become so familiar to him threatened to boil over.