Gemotions

The office felt like a fishbowl, airtight and suffocating. Clara ran a hand over her face, feeling the strain etched into her features. She looked at the new hire, eager and enthusiastic, and a feeling of profound unease washed over her. The situation felt… off-kilter.

“So,” she started, the word sounding foreign even to her own ears. “This is the… this is the whole process.” She pointed to a detailed flowchart she'd spent weeks refining. She'd known this like the back of her hand, but now it seemed complicated, impossible to explain.

She kept on talking, the words stumbling, catching, as the new hire kept nodding. It felt like she was watching a movie of her own life, but she wasn't in it.