Gemotions

The review was a death sentence. Chef Robert crumpled it in his hand, a primal act of frustration. His restaurant, ‘Chez Robert’, was supposed to be his legacy, but now it was a laughingstock. The critic had called his food "bland" and "unimaginative," words that cut deeper than any knife.

He wandered through the empty dining room, the silence amplifying his misery. He picked at a piece of stale bread, the texture gritty and unappetizing. He felt an intense fatigue, a bone-deep weariness that made every task seem impossible. The world seemed to have lost its color. He longed for oblivion.