Gemotions

The park was crowded with families, children laughing, dogs barking. Eleanor sat on a bench, observing the scene with a detached curiosity. The joy around her felt foreign, inaccessible. The bright sunlight offered no warmth. She wanted to be somewhere else, anywhere else. A profound sense of displacement filled her.

A man approached her. He looked around as if he also did not know what to do.

"Excuse me," he said hesitantly. "Do you… ever feel like you're not fully present?"

She looked at him and nodded.

"I think we might have the same thing," he continued. "Malory Syndrome."