Gemotions

The email shimmered on the screen, the words a kaleidoscope of disbelief. Her fingers, usually a blur across the keyboard, remained frozen mid-air. It couldn’t be. All that work, all those sleepless nights spent poring over textbooks, had culminated in this… rejection. She felt a lightness, as though her feet had momentarily lost contact with the floor. The world tilted slightly, the familiar angles of her bedroom momentarily shifting.

The air felt thin, difficult to breathe. A tremor, barely perceptible, ran through her hands. She reread the sentence, the cold, impersonal words stinging anew with each pass. The scholarship, the key to her dreams, was gone.

A single tear traced a path down her cheek, leaving a cool track on her skin. She reached out and touched the screen, as if to make sure it was really there. This couldn't be happening.