Gemotions

David rubbed his temples, the muscles in his forehead screaming for release. Another deadline loomed, another spreadsheet to analyze. He'd come home hoping for a moment's respite, but the air in the apartment felt thick, cloying. On the kitchen counter, a laptop sat open, a manuscript displayed on the screen.

He walked over and stood, transfixed. A story about a man named Daniel and a woman named Sarah unfolded before him. The narrative was peppered with details from their shared life, their inside jokes, their private arguments. He saw the cadence of his wife's prose, the way she used language.

His shoulders slumped. He felt a profound sense of exhaustion, a feeling of being utterly depleted. A cup of coffee, half-drunk and cold, sat beside the laptop, a testament to her hours of work, while he was here, stuck in a rut.