Gemotions

The foreman, a large man with a booming voice, approached Daniel. “Ready to get this show on the road?” he asked. Daniel just nodded, his throat suddenly dry. He found he could not look at the foreman. He felt like a coiled spring, ready to snap.

He took a slow, deep breath, trying to calm the hammering in his chest. The house, a familiar shell, seemed to mock him. Everything was wrong. The air was too still. He kicked at a loose stone, sending it skittering across the driveway.

He turned away. He wanted to escape, to run, to disappear. He felt a familiar hollowness inside, a vast and aching emptiness.