Gemotions

The afternoon sun, typically welcome in the small garden, felt aggressive against his skin. Michael stood, motionless, in his backyard. The birds chirped, the wind rustled the leaves, and the world seemed oblivious. His stomach, however, was in knots.

He remembered writing those words. The vulnerability, the raw emotion, now exposed for all to see. He felt a deep shame, a suffocating weight on his chest.

He took a shaky breath, then another, trying to regain some semblance of composure. He felt trapped, not just by the online publication, but by the person he had been.