Gemotions

He had told the wrong story at the meeting. It was a mistake he could never take back. He had embarrassed himself. Now, stuck in the elevator for three hours, all he could do was replay the scenario in his head. The humiliation burned his cheeks.

“You alright?” asked his coworker, Susan.

He just nodded, struggling to swallow down the lump in his throat. He felt like a failure, a disappointment, to everyone. His hands trembled slightly, and he clasped them tightly together to stop it.

He wished he could just disappear, fade away. He closed his eyes, imagining himself as a wisp of smoke, dissolving into the air. He was a nothing, a void.