Gemotions

The cafe was a lukewarm bath, the same beige walls and the same droning barista. Elias slumped onto a cracked vinyl chair, the weight of the city, and everything else, settling into his bones. He’d come here for the free Wi-Fi, the only internet connection he could reliably depend on. Then, a melody, familiar and yet distant, drifted from the speakers. It was his song, the one he'd poured his heart into, sung by someone else, a woman with a voice as bright and polished as a newly minted coin. He took a long, slow sip of the tepid coffee, the caffeine barely registering. His fingers traced the chipped edges of the mug.

He watched her on the small screen, a well-produced video, professionally lit, the kind of sheen his life had never known. The words were the same, the music almost, but it was someone else's achievement now. He felt nothing, not even a twinge. Just the dull ache of knowing things wouldn't change.