Gemotions

The air conditioning blasted cold air, and Mark shivered despite his jacket. He stared at his phone, the screen offering only a sterile reminder of the time elapsed. His grandmother’s final birthday. He’d promised her, months ago, that he’d be there. He now felt a terrible weight in his chest, a heaviness that settled with each tick of the clock. He imagined the gathering, the laughter, the gentle way his grandmother would have smiled at him. Now he would be absent. He closed his eyes, the memory a fading echo.