Gemotions

The artist in him recoiled at the crude lines, but the artist in him also recognized the familiar form. The stick figure with the oversized head and the perpetual smile was a ghost from his past, a creation of his young self. A wave of goosebumps erupted on his arms. He found he couldn’t look at the drawing.

He tried to take a deep breath. His niece, Emily, was excitedly pointing at her creation. He forced a smile. "That’s… interesting, Em." His voice sounded thin, reedy, even to his own ears. He felt the weight of something heavy press down on him. A sense of wrongness filled the room.