Gemotions

The email arrived like a punch to the gut. "Professor Evans has accepted a position elsewhere." Mark reread it, his vision blurring. A cold sweat slicked his palms. He’d built his entire academic identity around Professor Evans.

His usual rhythm was disrupted. He found himself walking around the department, aimlessly, asking junior faculty questions that he already knew the answers to, just to hear them respond. The weight in his chest felt like a physical presence.

He avoided his own desk, the blank screen reflecting his own anxious face. The research, once a source of joy, now seemed insurmountable, an impossible task without his advisor's reassuring presence. He felt stranded.