Gemotions

The stark white envelope felt heavy in Elias’s hand. He traced the embossed lettering with a fingertip, a tremor running through him. Eviction. He’d known it was coming, of course. The late rent, the increasingly terse emails from the landlord. Still, seeing it in black and white, the official seal… it was a blow.

He sat at the kitchen table, the eviction notice a lonely sentinel. He should call his sister, Martha. She’d offer him a place to stay, he knew. But the thought of burdening her, of imposing… He sighed, a slow, deflated exhale.

He opened the fridge, searching for something, anything, to eat. He saw the almost-empty carton of eggs and knew he should throw them out. Instead he cooked himself a three-egg omelet, meticulously folding in chopped tomatoes and a sprinkle of cheese he'd somehow managed to scrounge up. He ate slowly, savoring each bite, the silence of the apartment amplifying the ticking of the clock on the wall.