Gemotions

The day stretched before him, an endless expanse of emptiness. He’d been sitting in the same chair for hours, the only movement the slow, deliberate blinking of his eyes.

A frantic knocking. A neighbor. "The loud conversations," she said, her voice tight with fury. "Can you please keep it down?!"

He felt the familiar pressure in his chest, the dull ache in his limbs. He didn't even remember having a conversation. He closed the door, the sound echoing in the hollow silence of the apartment, and returned to his chair. He closed his eyes, hoping for oblivion.