Gemotions

The neon sign of "Sammy's Subs" flickered erratically, casting an unsettling strobe effect across the street. David felt a rush of blood to his head as he read the notice posted on the door: "Closed." He felt the ground tilting under his feet.

He leaned against the cold brick wall, his legs weak. Sammy's was more than a restaurant; it was where he'd met his wife. It was where he and his son had bonded over their love for the place. The thought of that shared space vanishing left him feeling bereft, hollow.

He ran a hand through his hair, his fingers tangling. The world seemed to shrink around him, the familiar street suddenly unfamiliar and cold. He felt a deep, gnawing fear, a sense of having lost something irreplaceable.