Gemotions

The bus ride was long, the city streets blurring past like a film reel of a life he didn’t recognize. The noise, the smells, the jostling of bodies—all of it added to a sense of displacement. Elias just wanted to be alone, to find a moment of peace. The radio crackled to life.

His song. "Shadow Dancer." It was being used as the theme song for a cheesy daytime talk show. He felt a profound sense of humiliation. He closed his eyes, his shoulders slumping.

He wanted to scream at the driver, to tell him to turn it off, but his voice wouldn't come. He got off at the next stop and started to walk, aimlessly, anywhere.