Gemotions

Rain lashed against the office window, mirroring the state of Arthur's insides. He hunched over his spreadsheet, the numbers blurring, mirroring the way his focus had fractured. He hadn't slept well in weeks, the same weight pressing on him each morning. Sarah, from accounting, had stopped by his desk earlier, her usual sunny disposition oddly grating today. She’d asked if he was alright, and he’d just grunted in response, avoiding her eyes.

"Hey, Arthur," Sarah's voice broke through his internal fog. "Did you ever go to Camp Clearwater? The one with the rickety docks?"

Arthur blinked, surprised. The name, a forgotten piece of his past, jolted him. He swallowed, a strange tightness in his chest. "Yeah," he muttered, his voice raspy.

"No way! I was there too! I was in the Orca cabin, what about you?" Her smile was wide, radiating enthusiasm. Arthur looked up, the corner of his lip twitching upwards in a hint of a smile, as he remembered. "I was in the Bear cabin," he said, and for a fleeting moment, the grey outside the window seemed a little less oppressive.