Gemotions

The silence in the cramped apartment pressed down on him. David stared at the ceiling, the cracks in the plaster mirroring the fissures in his own soul. Another job lost, another relationship dissolved. He was a ghost in his own life.

His sister called him over, her voice bright. “You have to see what Sophie’s drawing!”

Sophie showed him a picture. A creature made of smoke, with eyes like glowing embers.

“It's Ember,” Sophie said. “He protects me from the bad dreams.”

David’s chest felt constricted. He’d forgotten how to dream. Ember. He remembered his own smoke-creature. A sense of desolation washed over him.