Gemotions

Rain lashed against the windows, mirroring the downpour in David's mind. The email from HR sat unopened in his inbox: Ben's salary, adjusted to reflect his "market value." David knew the value of experience, the value of loyalty, the value of… well, it felt like everything he had once thought valuable was evaporating.

He found himself walking the familiar route from his desk to the break room, the linoleum underfoot feeling strange, as if the floor had somehow shifted. He remembered the first apartment he rented, how the wood floor felt beneath his bare feet.

The stale air of the break room clung to him as he watched Ben, already surrounded by a group of colleagues. The faces of the younger employees were bright and animated. He could almost hear the echoes of laughter from past office parties, the energy that no longer seemed to exist. The energy he once had.