Gemotions

The seaside air, usually so invigorating, felt cold and desolate. He was standing on the boardwalk, a place they had spent every summer. He’d encountered Jessica, his childhood sweetheart, working at a souvenir shop. He'd attempted to start a conversation, desperate for a spark of recognition. Jessica, however, met him with a polite, but empty, gaze. "I'm sorry, I don't recall," she said. He walked away, the cries of the seagulls sounding like mournful wails. The familiar scent of salt and seaweed now carried a bitter tang, and the waves crashing against the shore echoed the emptiness in his heart.