Gemotions

He stood in the middle of the bustling bookstore, the rejection letter crumpled in his pocket. The air around him seemed to hum, a symphony of unintelligible chatter and rustling pages. He tried to focus on the shelves, searching for a familiar title, a grounding presence. But the books swam before his eyes. He reached out, his hand shaking, to steady himself against a display of new releases, the glossy covers reflecting the harsh fluorescent lighting. His heart hammered against his ribs, a frantic, trapped bird.