Gemotions

The email arrived during her shift at the coffee shop. Maya, wiping down the counter, glanced at the notification on her phone, then froze. Everything around her seemed to blur, the clatter of the espresso machine suddenly distant. She couldn't feel her hands.

She absentmindedly continued wiping the counter, her movements robotic and mechanical. She stared out the window, at the people passing by, each one a symbol of a future that now seemed impossibly distant. The smell of coffee suddenly made her stomach churn.