Gemotions

Dust billowed around Leo’s ankles as he kicked a discarded tin can across the floor. This inherited workshop, packed with his grandfather's tools and contraptions, felt like a cage. He hadn't touched any of it in weeks, months even. His sister, Maya, however, was already deep in the grime, her face alight with purpose.

He’d always felt like a passenger in his own life, but now, with this inheritance, it was worse. The workshop felt like a reflection of himself: obsolete, broken, and filled with the promise of things he could never bring himself to fix. He slumped onto a dusty workbench.

Maya came over, wiping grease from her hands. "Check this out, Leo," she said, her voice brimming with excitement. "Grandpa was experimenting with biofuel!" She held up a series of diagrams, her eyes shining. He could only manage a blank stare.