Gemotions

The email arrived, another rejection. A sigh puffed from Elias, a quiet exhalation that seemed to carry the weight of a thousand disappointments. He slowly closed his laptop, the dim glow of the screen reflecting in his weary eyes.

He didn't bother to reply to Maya's texts. He knew what she would say – something upbeat about "the next opportunity" or "everything happens for a reason." He'd heard it all before, the platitudes that felt like hollow echoes in his chest.

He went to the kitchen and made a cup of instant coffee, the lukewarm liquid doing little to dispel the chill that had settled in his bones. He knew she'd got the job. He was certain of it. She always did.