Gemotions

The world felt muted to Thomas, everything a shade of gray. His divorce papers were finalized that morning, and the void in his apartment felt vast and echoing. He’d walked through the park, head down, barely registering the sunlight. Even the laughter of children playing sounded hollow.

He wandered aimlessly into a yard sale, drawn by nothing in particular. The air hung thick with the smell of old furniture and forgotten things. He wasn't looking for anything, of course.

His gaze snagged on a tattered bear, its one ear askew and a missing patch on its belly. It was the same bear he'd had as a child, the one his father had given him before… before everything had changed. A tremor ran through him, a feeling he couldn’t name, a lump forming in his throat.