Gemotions

The crumpled napkin. He didn't expect to find it there, under the pile of bills. Scrawled in the familiar, uneven handwriting, a list of wishes. "Visit a botanical garden. Take a pottery class. Learn to play chess." He closed his eyes, the image of her face, so vibrant and full of life, flashed behind his eyelids.

He remembered the pottery class, the half-hearted suggestion he'd dismissed as frivolous. The botanical garden, something he'd promised to do "someday". The chess, a game he'd scoffed at her for even trying. He felt his jaw clench, his muscles tightening.

The silence in the room was deafening. Every object in the room seemed to echo the unspoken words, the missed opportunities. He could almost hear her voice, a gentle whisper that would haunt him forever, a testament to his neglect.