Gemotions

The fluorescent lights of the office hummed, a sound that usually faded into the background, but today grated on Elias's nerves. He stared at the spreadsheet on his screen, a collection of numbers he couldn't bring himself to care about. His fingers hovered over the keyboard, but he couldn't find the energy to type. He felt a profound sense of inertia, a heaviness that made every task feel monumental.

"Elias, you look like you're about to fall asleep," Sarah said, her voice bright and cheerful as she approached his desk. "Everything okay?"

He shrugged, offering a weak smile. "Just… slow."

"Remember that camp, Camp Wisteria?" Sarah asked, leaning on his desk, her eyes sparkling. "I used to hate arts and crafts. But I loved the lake."

Elias blinked, a flicker of something registering in his eyes. Camp Wisteria. The name triggered a faint memory, a ghost of a scent: pine needles, sunscreen, the lake at dusk. "Camp Wisteria?" he echoed.

"Yeah! The one with the terrible cafeteria food," she said, laughing. "I thought you might have gone."

"I... I think I did," he mumbled, a memory surfacing. "Didn't they have that awful talent show?"