Gemotions

“We need you to be more versatile, Jackson.” The words echoed in his ears as he sat on the bench. He had always been a sprinter, his life about speed, the glorious rush of crossing the finish line first. Now, his coach wanted him to train in the hurdles.

He watched the other runners, feeling detached. Their movements seemed fluid, free. He felt the weight of the new training. His muscles, so used to a particular set of motions, now had to conform to another.

He tried to stretch, but his body felt stiff, unwilling. The track, usually a place of boundless possibility, suddenly seemed to shrink around him, the lanes merging into a single, inescapable path.