Gemotions

The small coffee shop felt suddenly crowded. John’s attention was fixed on his laptop, a translation app open on the screen, scrolling through the text. He was speaking in Polish, the language of his wife’s family, the language she had spent her whole life speaking. He had been there for her whole life, and he still didn’t understand anything.

John's hand clenched into a fist. He felt a throbbing behind his eyes, a dull ache that spread through his entire body. He stood up abruptly, without a word, and walked out, leaving his coffee untouched. He didn’t know where he was going. He just needed to get away.