Gemotions

He scrolled through the pictures again, each one a fresh stab. The vibrant colors of the front door, the manicured lawn, the bright kitchen… He felt a familiar hollowness spread through him, a feeling like being adrift in a vast ocean. The house, once the center of his universe, was now a symbol of his failures.

His reflection in the screen showed a man who looked older than his years, lines etched deep around his eyes. He’d barely left his apartment in a week. The dishes piled up in the sink, testament to his lack of energy, the unopened mail a mountain of ignored obligations.

The agent’s description, "move-in ready," grated on his ears. He imagined the family moving in, their laughter, their dreams. He imagined them making it a "home", something he could never quite manage. He sighed, a sound that seemed to carry the weight of the world, and reached for the remote, switching on the TV, anything to drown out the silence.