Gemotions

The email arrived unexpectedly, a message from a support group, inviting him to a video call. It was about "Shared Affinity Syndrome." The name itself sounded ludicrous to Mark. He deleted the message immediately, then found himself retrieving it, rereading the carefully worded invitation.

He reluctantly clicked the link, joining the online meeting. Faces flickered on the screen, a collection of individuals claiming to suffer from the same mysterious illness, whatever the hell that might be. A woman, her face partially obscured by the poor webcam quality, began to speak.

"The memory loss," she said, her voice faint, "and the sensitivity to loud noises. Do you experience that?" Mark rubbed his temples, feeling the familiar throb of a headache. He would not respond.

Then, a man on the screen, his face lit with a strange excitement, held up an object. It was a chipped ceramic mug, identical to the one Mark had on his desk. He felt a flicker of surprise, a prickle of unease. He immediately signed off.