Gemotions

The exhibition was crowded, the air thick with the scent of expensive perfume and pretentious pronouncements. My "Existential Crisis in a Jar" – a jar filled with murky water and a half-eaten pickle – was the star attraction, apparently. A smile bloomed on my face, a slow, widening curve that I struggled to conceal.

People were circling it, murmuring about its "deep allegorical meaning." One woman looked particularly moved, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. I swallowed a rising wave of giggles.

I thought about how I'd considered the jar trash. Now it was a work of art. The world, I mused, was truly a strange and wonderful place.