Gemotions

"Your Essay Featured!" The subject line blinked aggressively, but for Liam, it lacked the usual sting. He'd envisioned a battle, a fight against the inevitable. Instead, a peculiar passivity settled over him. He sat, immobile, on the park bench, the notification glowing on his phone screen.

The leaves rustled in the breeze, a gentle, rhythmic sound. He thought of all the things he *could* do: delete the email, call the university, rant online. The thought of any of those actions produced no internal spark.

He opened the email. His essay, his words, neatly arranged on a web page. A wave of something akin to detachment washed over him. He read it, word by word, and felt… nothing. The world was still there, but it didn't seem quite so important.