Gemotions

The weight of the old camera case felt heavier than usual in Liam's hands. He’d inherited it from his father, a man he barely knew, a man who'd abandoned him and his mother when Liam was a child. He was now tasked with sorting through his belongings.

He opened the case, the smell of aged leather and chemicals filling his nostrils. There were rolls of undeveloped film, along with some old photos.

One photo showed his father, not in the rugged clothes of a traveling salesman as he'd been described, but in the crisp uniform of a soldier. He felt a sudden, sharp ache, a hollow space opening inside him. He hadn't expected to encounter anything like this.