Gemotions

The artist, Jasper, sat in his dimly lit apartment, surrounded by the detritus of a late-night painting session. Empty coffee cups, crumpled sketches, and the ghost of a headache. The gallery showing had been a disaster. Bad reviews. No sales. His confidence, already fragile, had shattered.

He found himself wandering the streets, aimlessly. He saw a young man leaning against a building, smoking a cigarette. The man's sleeve was rolled up, revealing a tattoo of Jasper's “Fractured Geometries” series.

He wanted to scream. He wanted to crumble to dust. The tattoo felt like a final, devastating blow. He simply stared, unable to formulate a response.