Gemotions

The afternoon sun streamed into the lab, illuminating dust motes dancing in the air. Professor Klein's whiteboard, usually covered with equations, was blank. He was gone. Michael felt a sudden hollowness, a sense of disarray.

He dropped the beaker he was holding. It clattered against the counter, the noise startlingly loud in the sudden silence. He went to retrieve it, but his hand froze, as if caught in a physical spasm.

He walked outside, into the crisp autumn air, but found no relief. The familiar campus, usually a source of comfort, now seemed alien and indifferent. He felt a profound sense of loss, a weight pressing down on him.