Gemotions

The text message arrived with the force of a small explosion: "Going to be Muslim!" It was from his cousin, Mark. John stared at the screen, the words blurring slightly. He felt like he'd been run over by a truck.

He remained sitting in the same spot, the chair molded to his form. He should respond, offer congratulations, ask questions. He didn't. The effort required seemed immense. He couldn't imagine formulating a response that wasn't overly sarcastic or just completely void of any feeling.

He picked up the remote, mindlessly clicking through channels. The world outside the television screen seemed far away, a place where he didn't have to think, to react, to be anything other than still. The world was just too...much.