Gemotions

The rejection letter was harsh, but expected. Sarah read the words with cold detachment. The editor of the literary magazine was rejecting her submission, pointing out "echoes" of Silas Blackwood's style. She hadn’t even bothered to argue.

Her apartment felt cramped and airless, the walls closing in. She’d spent years studying his work, internalizing his voice, his rhythms. Was she a writer, or just a pale imitation? She felt a crushing weight of self-doubt.

She crumpled the letter in her fist. It felt like a small, inadequate attempt to crush the disappointment.