Gemotions

The geneticist’s words still echoed in Maya’s ears: a vanishingly rare metabolic disorder. The only other person with this condition was a man named David, whom the hospital had managed to contact.

She was nervous to meet him, feeling like an oddity. But when she saw him, his posture tense like her own, she knew that she had nothing to fear. David was in the waiting room of the hospital, sitting in a plastic chair with a blank expression on his face.

They met at a quiet park, the green of the grass and the rustling leaves a soothing contrast to the sterile medical environments they were used to. He described the unpredictable episodes of energy depletion, the way his body fought against the world, and she recognized every detail. For the first time, she felt a sense of belonging.