Gemotions

The afternoon sun, struggling to pierce through the grimy window of his apartment, illuminated the dust motes dancing in the air. Arthur found the letter inside a tattered copy of "Moby Dick." A declaration of impossible love from a student to her professor. It reeked of manufactured drama, he decided.

He examined the paper, tracing the loops and swirls of the handwriting with his fingertip. The words were flowery, filled with yearning. He rolled his eyes, a familiar movement. He was the most grounded of his group of friends; they called him the cynic. He considered the time wasted to write the letter. He tossed it onto the growing pile of bills and unopened mail.