Gemotions

The invitation, crumpled in Elias’s fist, felt suddenly heavy. He'd been looking forward to this, the whispered promises of laughter and shared memories. Now, the park felt vast and empty, the late afternoon sun casting long, skeletal shadows. He kicked at a loose stone, sending it skittering across the cracked pavement. A sudden wave of fatigue washed over him, a bone-deep weariness he couldn’t place. He slumped onto a nearby bench, the metal cold against his thighs.

He thought of the cake. The one he’d envisioned, adorned with candles, and the faces of his friends gathered to celebrate him. They wouldn’t be there. The anticipation, the slow build, had simply…vanished. He closed his eyes, the image of the canceled party a dark stain on the brighter possibilities of the day.