Gemotions

Sarah slumped onto the park bench, the late afternoon sun a heavy weight on her eyelids. She needed a moment. Liam bounced up, radiating energy. “Remember that carnival last summer? Best night ever!”

Sarah squinted, trying to conjure the memory. Liam's recollection was a vibrant painting: the dazzling lights, the roar of the crowd, the dizzying highs of the Ferris wheel. For her, it was a muted watercolor. She recalled mostly the suffocating humidity and the endless queues.

"It was alright," she mumbled, stretching her arms above her head, her muscles protesting. "I spent most of it stuck in line for the haunted house."

Liam's face fell slightly. "No way! We were together the whole time. You loved the ring toss, remember? You won that awful stuffed panda." He chuckled, gesturing broadly.

Sarah frowned. The only thing she remembered winning was a cheap plastic whistle, which she'd promptly lost. The panda was a total blank. The discrepancy felt like a small, irritating pebble in her shoe. "Maybe... maybe I'm misremembering."