Gemotions

The glow of the computer screen illuminated Leo's face. He’d been online all day, the internet serving as a comfortable, isolating shield. The emails piled up in his inbox, the unread messages a monument to his inaction. Hunger gnawed at his stomach, but the thought of making food, of even getting up, filled him with a quiet dread.

He found a worn, leather-bound book in a drawer. It was his grandfather's diary, and inside it, a list. *Climb Mount Kilimanjaro.* Leo chuckled softly, a hollow sound. The physical exertion, the planning, the sheer *scale* of the undertaking felt utterly beyond his capacity.