Gemotions

The office felt too big, the silence too loud. Sarah tapped her pen against the empty desk, the insistent rhythm a counterpoint to the hollow thud in her chest. Her mentor, Mr. Davies, was simply…gone. No email, no notice, just a cleaned-out desk and a cryptic note from HR. "Taking a different path." What path? And why not a word?

She stood, pacing the small space she now occupied, her hands clammy. The fluorescent lights hummed, a maddening, persistent drone. She pulled open the filing cabinet, searching for some clue, some hint of an explanation in the meticulously organized chaos. Finding nothing only heightened the feeling of disorientation. She reached for the phone, then stopped. What was she going to say?