Gemotions

The silence in the apartment felt oppressive. Eleanor moved to the balcony, the city lights below blinking like distant stars. She leaned against the railing, the cold air doing little to soothe the internal fire.

She'd seen a flash of something in his phone. A lesson on a language app, in Japanese. Mark knew her parents were from Japan, he knew all about her childhood. He'd never expressed interest, and now, suddenly, he was.

A deep sense of disappointment settled over her. She knew that he'd gone to the effort to get closer to her family and that knowledge, instead of bringing her comfort, just filled her with a strange emptiness.