Gemotions

He stared at the whiteboard in his apartment. Scribbled equations, diagrams, notes, all symbols of a plan that now seemed to crumble. Professor Dubois's departure had been sudden. A prestigious offer, of course. For him, a gaping void was left. He rubbed his hands across his face, a gesture of exhaustion.

He found it hard to concentrate. The television blared in the background, but he couldn't follow the plot. He tried to read a chapter from a textbook, but his eyes kept drifting across the lines, absorbing nothing. The world seemed to have lost its color, a dull gray haze.