Gemotions

The coffee cup trembled in his hand, the hot liquid sloshing precariously close to the rim. The website, showing his childhood home, was still open on his desktop. The virtual tour beckoned. He didn't want to click, but the curiosity was a relentless, nagging itch.

He took a large, gulping swallow of coffee, the scalding heat doing nothing to rouse him from the internal gloom that had settled upon him. The words on the listing description swam before his eyes. "Spacious," "updated kitchen," "move-in ready." Nothing about the laughter, the slammed doors, the smell of cookies baking.

He slumped back in his chair, the leather creaking under his weight. He felt adrift, untethered, and a profound sense of isolation washed over him. He felt as if a vital piece of him had been chipped away.