Gemotions

Liam stared at the photograph, the paper thin in his sweaty grip. A face stared back, a mirror image in some ways, but also…different. This was Maya, his half-sister. The DNA test results were irrefutable, delivered to him in a sterile, impersonal email. His hands felt clumsy, his movements uncoordinated. He hadn't known this side of his mother; a hidden history.

He’d retreated to his cramped apartment, the blinds drawn against the afternoon sun. He felt exposed, stripped bare. The silence was deafening, amplifying the rapid thud of his heart. He’d barely spoken to his own mother since the news, a wall built of unspoken questions. He'd never considered his father; he was simply gone.

He felt the need to retreat. He went to his local bookstore, the familiar scent of old paper and coffee usually a balm. Today, it was just the opposite. Everywhere he looked, he saw people, strangers, all with their own lives, their own secrets. He fled back to the apartment, dropping into his armchair, the photograph still clutched in his hand.