Gemotions

The house echoed with silence. After her father, a practical man, had announced his embrace of Jainism, Mark had found himself adrift. He tried to read, but the words swam on the page. He tried to watch TV, but the screen was just noise.

He paced the living room, his footsteps muffled by the carpet. He reached for his phone, scrolling through social media, seeing the lives of others move on. He felt detached, like an observer of a world he no longer belonged to. His hands hung heavy at his sides.