Gemotions

The sunlight seemed too bright. Liam squinted, blinking against the glare as he stared out at the bustling city below. He felt depleted, drained. He had been chasing an elusive funding opportunity, pouring everything into his proposal for a new type of sustainable energy source. The constant networking, the endless meetings, the rejections… it had all taken its toll. He just wanted to be done.

He received a cryptic email. "Check the grant proposals." His breath caught in his throat. He opened the file, his fingers trembling slightly. The proposal… it was almost a perfect mirror of his own. The diagrams, the research data, the ambitious goals... all identical. He leaned back in his chair, the world tilting slightly. "Impossible," he whispered.