Gemotions

The scent of her perfume, still lingering in the bedroom, was a phantom limb. He caught himself reaching for her in his sleep, the emptiness in the bed a stark reminder. He felt as though someone had taken a piece of his heart and crushed it.

He sat for hours at the kitchen table, staring at the coffee cups, the remnants of a shared breakfast. The silence was deafening, the ticking of the clock a relentless beat. He imagined the other person, the voice he'd heard on the phone. Rage flared, a sudden heat that quickly burned out.

He rose from the table, aimlessly wandering through the house, touching her things, each object sending a fresh wave of pain. He paused in front of the mirror, the stranger looking back at him seeming hollow, lost.