Gemotions

He saw her across the crowded bar, laughing, her head thrown back, a cascade of golden hair falling across her shoulders. The sound of her laughter, once so familiar, now felt like a punch to the gut. Liam watched her, hidden in the shadows of the booth, nursing his lukewarm beer.

He approached, hesitantly. "Hey, Maya. Remember me?" Maya's brow furrowed, her eyes scanning his face as if trying to place a distant, blurry shape. The air around him suddenly felt thin, hard to breathe.

She shook her head, a polite apology in her eyes. "Sorry, I don't." Liam, in turn, fumbled with a joke that fell flat. He’d rehearsed this meeting for weeks. All the memories, the shared secrets, the whispered dreams – they were gone, erased. He felt a burning in his chest, a desperate need to reclaim something lost. He retreated, shoulders slumped, back into the dimness.