Gemotions

The house felt stifling. The air was thick, heavy, like a woolen blanket in summer. Oliver paced the living room, the creak of the floorboards the only sound in the otherwise quiet space. He couldn't seem to focus on anything, his thoughts scattering like leaves in a storm. He felt a pervasive sense of… weariness.

His father entered the room, his expression unusually serious. “Son,” he began, his voice measured, “I have something to tell you.” Oliver steeled himself, bracing for whatever lecture he was about to receive.

“I am becoming a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.” Oliver felt a peculiar detachment, a sensation of being outside himself, observing the scene unfold from a distance. He found himself studying the pattern on the wallpaper.