Gemotions

The flickering fluorescent lights of the office seemed to mock Elias. Each blink was a subtle reminder of the deadlines he wasn't meeting, the progress he wasn't making. He slumped further in his chair, the ergonomic design a useless comfort. A notification pinged, an email from Sarah, his supposed collaborator. "Come to my office ASAP. Urgent." His stomach clenched.

He dragged himself down the hallway, the sterile air heavy on his chest. Sarah’s door was already ajar. Inside, she gestured to a large whiteboard covered in diagrams and notes. "Take a look," she said, her voice unusually flat. His own project, the one he'd poured months of his life into, stared back at him. Identical.

A wave of emptiness washed over him. All the late nights, the abandoned social life, the sacrifices... all for this? He mumbled something about needing air, and stumbled out, feeling the building sway around him.