Gemotions

Chef Hiroki stared out the window, the rain mirroring the tears he wouldn't let fall. The review, now crumpled in his pocket, felt like a burning coal. The critic had called his sushi "uninspired," and "a pale imitation of the authentic." He felt a cold shiver, a physical manifestation of his inner disturbance. He replayed the service in his mind, searching for the error, the misstep, the reason for such a savage attack. He felt his face heat up, his cheeks burning with a mixture of anger and humiliation. He turned away from the window, unable to bear the sight of the city lights reflecting in the wet glass.