Gemotions

The glow of the laptop screen felt like a weight across Elias's face. He’d been scrolling through listings for an hour, each picture blurring into the next. Then, it hit him, a jolt of recognition despite the fog that had settled over his brain. There it was: 14 Oak Street. His childhood home. The listing was immaculate: fresh paint, manicured lawn, the works. He leaned back in his chair, the squeak of the springs echoing in the otherwise silent apartment.

He clicked through the photos, each one a pang in his chest. The kitchen, where his mother taught him to bake. The living room, where he spent countless afternoons lost in books. He felt a leaden quality in his limbs, an urge to simply…stop. He closed the lid of the laptop with a heavy sigh, the click echoing the emptiness he felt.