Gemotions

The news arrived in a package, thick and official-looking. Inside, a polite form letter and his manuscript, returned like a discarded limb. Elias flipped through the pages, the text now stained by his greasy fingerprints. He felt a deep, abiding disdain for the entire publishing industry, for its gatekeepers and its yes-men.

He ripped the package open, scattering the contents across the table. He'd dedicated years to this, years of sacrifice, of rejection from loved ones who felt neglected, only to be deemed unworthy. A bitter laugh escaped his lips.

He picked up a pen, the nib scratching across the paper as he furiously scribbled insults on the publisher's stationary. The words became a torrent of defiance, a raw, unedited outpouring of his fury. He didn’t care anymore.