Gemotions

The afternoon light cast long shadows across the garden. David, slumped on the hammock, found his eyelids heavier than lead. The gentle sway, usually a source of pleasure, was now a lullaby. The incessant chirp of cicadas was now just a droning sound.

A flash of brown fur. A bark, excited and demanding. The terrier mix was running across his lawn again, tail wagging furiously. David groaned inwardly. The energy required to get up felt immense.

He tried to focus on his surroundings, on the way the leaves rustled in the breeze, on the feeling of the hammock beneath him, but it was to no avail. Everything just faded. "Rover, no!" he called out, his voice a muffled whisper. It did nothing. He felt the need to simply close his eyes.