Gemotions

"It's flattering, isn't it?" Elias’s friend had said, attempting levity. Elias just shook his head, the comment ringing hollow. The image, his "Serpent's Kiss" design, was on someone’s bicep.

He found himself pacing his small apartment, the hardwood floor creaking under his restless steps. The silence was deafening, broken only by the frantic beat of his own heart. He picked up his brush, a familiar weight in his hand, but the canvas stared back, mocking him with its emptiness.

The colors seemed dull, the inspiration dried up, the canvas now just a square of white.