Gemotions

Rain lashed against the windows of the hospital cafeteria, mirroring the storm brewing inside Elias. He hadn’t touched his lukewarm coffee, only staring at the woman across the small, plastic table. Her name was Clara. She, like him, suffered from the incredibly rare condition, Chronos Dysmorphia – a glitch in their internal clocks that caused wildly erratic aging. He felt a profound sense of… satisfaction, watching her struggle to peel an orange, her hands shaking with the tremors of someone decades older than her actual age. The irony of their shared predicament felt delicious.

He picked up the untouched coffee and, with a flourish, poured it onto the floor, watching the brown liquid spread across the tiles. “Terrible coffee,” he announced, his voice smooth as glass, enjoying the way Clara flinched. He noticed the worry in her eyes. Good.