Gemotions

The hum of the refrigerator filled the kitchen. Richard stared out the window, watching the rain blur the streetlights. The days had been passing by. He felt a deep sense of inertia, a lack of momentum that seemed to grip him. He was tired of it all. He was tired of everything.

His partner, Greg, was a writer. He’d always been secretive about his work. One day, he found a flash drive. He plugged it into his computer. He opened the file. "The Suburban Echo." It was his life. The main character, "Rex," was the spitting image of himself.

He read on, and a cold dread filled him. Rex was trapped. Richard saw himself in the protagonist's feelings of discontent and aimlessness. The narrative was a subtle, yet biting, commentary on his own stagnation. He closed the file, a sense of hopelessness washing over him.