Gemotions

The park was supposed to be overflowing with laughter and chatter. Now, only the rustle of leaves in the autumn wind filled the air. David scanned the empty picnic area, his shoulders slumped. The picnic baskets were untouched, the balloons tethered to benches, deflated and forlorn.

His stomach twisted into a knot. He glanced at the message again, a single sentence, devoid of explanation. He felt a heavy weight in his chest, a sense of something important having been ripped away.

He kicked at a fallen leaf, the sound unusually loud in the quiet park. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The sun suddenly seemed too bright, the sky too vast.