Gemotions

"So... you like it?" Maya's voice, usually a lively cascade, was hushed, almost hesitant. She stood in the doorway, clutching a mug of tea, her eyes darting between him and the manuscript on the table. The cover read “Shadows of the City.”

He hadn't slept, not properly, since he'd stumbled upon it. Each page was a revelation, a confirmation of the suffocating sense of stagnation that had settled over him in the last year. The novel, centered around a man named Ethan, mirrored his own life too closely. Ethan's ennui, his quiet rebellion, his sense of being trapped, were all too familiar.

He took a slow sip of his whiskey. "It's... interesting." The word felt inadequate, a pathetic underestimation of the intricate tapestry of his life she'd woven. He looked up at her, really looked, seeing the way her expression crumpled slightly, revealing the guilt and worry he'd hoped she wouldn't show.