Gemotions

The apartment was too quiet, the silence broken only by the hum of the refrigerator. Alex wandered from room to room, feeling like a ghost in his own life. He felt the weight of the day bearing down on him, and couldn't find an interest in anything. He considered turning on the television, but the idea filled him with a sense of futility.

He was babysitting his neighbor's daughter, Lily, who was drawing at the kitchen table. Alex didn't really want to engage, but he felt he should make the effort.

"What's that?" he asked, attempting a casual tone. Lily held up a drawing of a creature with rainbow colored hair, and limbs that seemed to twist and turn in impossible ways. "It's Zephyr," she explained. Alex felt a sudden, inexplicable tightening in his chest. A flicker of something.