Gemotions

He snapped the pencil in half, the wood splintering under the pressure. The editor's words echoed in his head, a relentless litany of criticism and dismissal. He had poured his heart and soul into this project, the culmination of a lifelong dream. The response was a crushing blow.

He paced his small apartment, the worn floorboards creaking under his weight. He felt a throbbing ache behind his eyes. He stopped in front of the window, glaring at the world outside. The sun was going down, casting long shadows across the landscape. The shadows mirrored the growing darkness within him.

He picked up the broken pieces of the pencil and tossed them in the trash. He wanted to destroy something.