Gemotions

David hated Sundays. The silence in the house, the empty hours stretching ahead like a desert. He usually filled them with work, but today, even the familiar routines offered little solace. He kept reaching for his phone, then stopping himself. He wanted to call his sister, to hear the comforting cadence of his native tongue.

He found it. A notebook. A language learning book. Marked pages. Practiced phrases. His partner, Alex, had been secretly studying. He'd never expressed an interest. Now, Alex walked into the living room, and he spoke. The words were a melody, foreign and familiar. He had been planning to surprise him. The surprise didn't land. The words felt like knives. David stepped outside and lit a cigarette, the smoke the only thing that felt real.