Gemotions

He’d changed, of course. Grown taller, broader, but the familiar glint of mischief in his eyes should have been a dead giveaway. I approached with a hopeful heart. "Hey, Alex? It's Ben. From the lake?"

The smile on his face was tight, unnatural. "I'm sorry, no. I don't know anyone named Ben." The words were like a physical blow.

He turned back to his conversation, a wave of his hand dismissing me. I could feel a tremor starting in my hands. The world seemed to shrink around me. He didn’t remember the boat, the endless summer days, the shared secrets whispered under the stars. The injustice of it all, it was a physical weight.