Gemotions

The room felt suddenly suffocating, the air thick and heavy. Sarah’s father, a staunch Catholic, had just revealed his conversion to Islam. Sarah's hands flew up to cover her mouth. Her heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic drumbeat against the silence that followed. The words hung in the air, a silent accusation. She couldn't breathe. Her vision swam. She saw her mother’s face, etched with a similar expression of shock and disbelief. A wave of nausea rolled over her. She excused herself abruptly, needing to escape the confines of the living room, to find some air, some space to think.