Gemotions

The fluorescent lights of the hospital waiting room hummed, a monotonous drone that seemed to vibrate through Elias's bones. He sat slumped in a plastic chair, staring at the floor. His hands, usually restless, lay still in his lap. He’d come to visit his grandmother, but his mind was elsewhere, replaying the brief, awkward encounter with Sarah earlier that day.

They’d shared mud pies and whispered secrets, played hide and seek in her backyard, but when he had approached her at the hospital, her eyes had registered nothing. A flicker of politeness, followed by a quick dismissal, like a polite stranger. Elias felt a dull ache in his chest, a heavy feeling that seemed to press all the air from his lungs. He closed his eyes, the image of Sarah's face, blank and unrecognizing, burned behind his eyelids.