Gemotions

The afternoon sun cast long shadows across the living room, but the warmth did nothing to penetrate the chill that had settled in Chloe's bones. She clutched the list, found taped to the inside of his tackle box, feeling the paper crinkle in her grasp.

It was filled with his ambitious goals, his hopes and desires. "Catch a marlin," "Build a treehouse," "Find someone who accepts me, flaws and all." The last entry was a sharp jab.

She felt a wave of nausea. The apartment seemed smaller, the walls closing in. The colorful fish art on the walls seemed mocking. Her own aspirations, once so vibrant, now felt distant and irrelevant. The silence seemed to grow, amplifying the weight in her chest.