Gemotions

The silence in the room was a palpable thing, a weight pressing down on her chest. Linda sat across from Mr. Chen, the lawyer, the details of the neighbor's proposal laid out before her. The legal jargon swam before her eyes.

She fiddled with the pen, clicking it repeatedly, the sound a frantic metronome in the stillness. The thought of signing something, of committing to a decision, felt like a physical burden. Her breath came in short, shallow gasps.

The air grew thin, and she found herself struggling to focus on the words, each sentence a separate thread she had to pull to understand. She pushed the papers away, unable to meet Mr. Chen's patient gaze. She needed to escape.