Gemotions

The room felt surreal, like a dream he couldn’t wake up from. He glanced at his father, a man who had always been a rock, now looking fragile. His mother’s absence was a physical presence, felt in every corner of the room, in the hushed tones of sympathy, in the empty chair at the head table.

He started speaking, his voice barely audible above the background noise. He’d practiced the speech, but the prepared words felt alien and meaningless. He stammered, his vision blurring with tears. The memory of his mother's touch, the sound of her laughter, a phantom echo. He had the sensation of falling, of tumbling into a dark void.