Gemotions

Her mouth felt dry, her heart pounded against her ribs. The error was “minor,” they said, but the fear it ignited within her felt anything but. It had been years since she last went to the doctor, and the idea of going back brought back feelings she thought she had buried. She kept imagining the wrong test results, the incorrect treatments.

She found herself replaying the conversations she’d had with the doctors, searching for clues, for reassurance. She paced the length of her small living room, a restless energy coursing through her. She needed to know everything was going to be okay.

She reached for her phone, but her hands were trembling. Her fingers fumbled with the screen. She wanted to call someone, anyone, but the only number she could bring herself to dial was her own. She was left on hold, listening to elevator music.