Gemotions

He felt a sudden, sharp stab of pain in his side. It was a familiar sensation, a physical manifestation of his internal turmoil. The new garage door was being installed, its automatic opener a constant reminder of how he'd failed them. He kept all the windows shut to block out the noise.

He spent his days in the dark, lost in thought. He didn't answer his phone, didn't check his email. He barely ate. He felt utterly disconnected, adrift in a sea of his own making. The world had gone too bright, too loud.

He’d hoped to forget, but the memories, vivid and raw, assaulted him. The sound of the power saw, the smell of the varnish. The house next door was just a house. It was him who was broken.