Gemotions

The room seemed to shrink, the walls closing in. Evelyn felt a familiar pressure behind her eyes, the precursor to a headache. Her grandmother, her rock, her everything, had just declared her intention to embrace Islam. Evelyn found herself staring at the intricate patterns of the rug, as if mesmerized. She couldn't look her grandmother in the eye.

She twisted her fingers together, her knuckles turning white. The words, "But Grandma, why?" felt trapped in her throat. She bit down on her lip, a sharp sting the only sensation grounding her. It was a betrayal, she felt. The world felt wrong.

Her grandmother smiled, a gentle, understanding smile that usually comforted her, but now felt alien. Evelyn wanted to scream, to lash out, but instead, she took a shaky breath and asked, her voice barely a whisper, “Will you… will you still be you?”