Gemotions

He stared at the words, the paper now stained with a coffee ring. "Write a novel." Andrew had known Sarah for ten years, and this… This was ludicrous. The woman who spent her days glued to spreadsheets, dreaming of being a… writer? It was absurd.

He shuddered. "Go on a solo backpacking trip." It felt like a punch to the gut. Each item was a condemnation of their shared life. He felt a need to tear the list to shreds, to obliterate the evidence of her secret self.

He picked up a pen and started scribbling, aimlessly, across the paper. The ink smudged, reflecting his own messy thoughts. The room felt suddenly too small, suffocating.