Gemotions

The flyer announcing the condo conversion fluttered to the floor as Chloe opened her mailbox. She picked it up, then let it fall again. The building’s grimy lobby, usually a source of minor irritation, felt suddenly… suffocating.

She wandered back up to her apartment, the familiar click of the locks sounding distant and meaningless. She sank onto the couch, the cushions offering no comfort. The afternoon light slanted through the window, illuminating dust motes dancing in the air.

She hadn't changed out of her pajamas. The day bled into the next. She flipped through channels on the television, aimlessly. Every program, every face, seemed to be happening in a world far removed from her own.