Gemotions

Liam ran a hand through his already disheveled hair, leaving it standing on end. The coding project was a beast, relentlessly demanding his attention and draining his creative well. Each line of code was a mountain, each error message a crushing blow. He hadn't slept properly in days. He received a message from his internet pal, "SunshineSky," a girl he’d been chatting with for months. She was asking to hang out. He'd assumed she was in another country, as she never specified her location. He felt a wave of dizziness.

His apartment was a mess of empty energy drink cans and crumpled paper. He needed to get out, to breathe. He felt like his lungs were being squeezed. The thought of facing the outside world felt impossible. It was a local park, and they had agreed to meet at sunset.

The park felt vast and overwhelming, the setting sun painting the sky in fiery hues. He saw her, her back to him, and he took a shaky breath. He’d been hiding from the world, and now the world was standing right in front of him.