Gemotions

Sam lay in his hammock, staring up at the canopy of leaves, dappled with sunlight. The air was still, and the only sound was the gentle chirp of crickets. He had just finished reading the new collection of short stories by Evangeline Finch, and he felt a profound sense of pleasure. The stories felt like a friend. He could read them over and over.

His phone vibrated with a social media notification. He ignored it, lost in thought. A second notification. He sighed and picked it up. Finch had been accused of plagiarism. He felt a sharp pang of disappointment, but he closed his eyes. The hammock, the sun, the crickets – this was what mattered.