Gemotions

He hadn't been sleeping well lately. The book, a tattered copy of "The Picture of Dorian Gray," had seemed innocuous enough. But the note, tucked between pages, spoke of secrets, of a life lived in darkness. Now, he couldn't shake the feeling of being watched.

He drove the familiar route to work, but the faces in the other cars seemed to linger, to examine him. His hands tightened on the steering wheel. He glanced in the rearview mirror, again, and again. He noticed the red pickup truck that had been behind him for miles.

At the office, he avoided eye contact, kept his voice low. The water cooler chat felt like hushed conspiracies. He felt his coworkers were talking about him. Every phone call, every email, became a potential threat. He started walking a different route home.