Gemotions

The silence of the apartment was suffocating. Michael sat in the dark, the flickering light of the television the only illumination in the room. His girlfriend had left him, taking everything that had previously filled the apartment, leaving nothing but hollowness. The food he'd tried to eat tasted like cardboard.

His cousin's daughter, Chloe, burst in, her face alight with excitement. She held up a drawing, showcasing a creature he recognised instantly – a fluffy blue dragon with mismatched scales. “It’s Fluffy! He’s flying to the moon.”

Michael felt a sharp stab of something akin to jealousy. Fluffy. A childish comfort that now seemed impossibly distant. He couldn’t bring himself to speak, simply turning away. His eyes stung.