Gemotions

The picnic basket sat unopened, a testament to his shattered hopes. He'd painstakingly prepared everything: sandwiches, salad, her favorite fruit. They were supposed to be watching the sunset together. The park was beautiful, the sky ablaze with color, but the joy was gone. The space beside him felt vast, empty.

He saw her then, across the field, laughing, her arm linked with another man. It was the same man who’d called earlier, a man she’d brushed off as "just a friend." The other man reached for her, and she smiled as she leaned in. His hands clenched into fists, nails biting into his palms. He felt a deep, wrenching pain, as if something vital had been torn away. He stood and walked away from the picnic, heading for his car.