Gemotions

John dragged himself up the stairs, each step a monumental effort. His shoulders ached, and his legs felt like lead weights. He’d just finished a double shift at the hospital, the scent of antiseptic still clinging to his clothes. He found the laptop, left open on the kitchen table, a beacon of unwanted information. His son, Michael, had been so adamant about avoiding social media, a fact John had respected. Now, staring at the screen, he found a meticulously crafted profile, full of carefully posed photographs and flirty comments he did not understand.

A wave of dizziness washed over him. The room swam slightly. He felt adrift, lost in a sea of teenage slang and inside jokes. All he wanted was a hot shower and the silence of sleep, but the digital world Michael had created was pulling him in. He closed his eyes for a moment, the image of his son, a stranger in his own home, burned into the back of his eyelids.