Gemotions

The email notification blinked accusingly from the laptop screen. "Congratulations! Your diary is trending!" Mark stared at the message, his stomach twisting into a painful knot. He ran a hand through his already dishevelled hair, the movement a futile attempt to regain some semblance of control. He felt his breathing become shallow, each inhale a struggle.

His teenage angst, previously locked away in the ink-stained pages of his youth, was now being broadcast to the world. He shut the laptop, the sudden darkness a temporary relief. He walked to the window, the city sprawling beneath him, vast and indifferent. The thought of facing the world, of enduring the inevitable barrage of mockery, was a heavy burden to bear. The noise of the city, the horns of the cars, the distant sirens, all seemed to press in on him.