Gemotions

He stared at the framed photograph. It was a picture of him, younger, standing with a group of students in front of the school. He recognized some of the faces, but the emotions the photograph evoked in him were foreign, a mixture of joy and apprehension that he couldn’t place. He felt a throbbing ache in his chest.

His steps were unsteady as he moved through his apartment, grasping at furniture for balance. The sounds of the city outside – the sirens, the honking cars – seemed distant, muffled, as if filtered through water. He felt a profound sense of isolation, as if he were separated from the world by an invisible barrier.