Gemotions

The phone slipped from Emily’s grasp, landing with a soft thud on the plush carpet. Her vision swam. It was a dizzying kaleidoscope of images – her son, Mark, in poses she’d never witnessed, with people she didn't recognise. He was different, transformed. A different name, different friends, a whole new identity.

The room seemed to spin. She pressed her fingertips to her temples, trying to ground herself. The easy familiarity of the house, the walls she'd decorated, now seemed to press in on her, suffocating. Everything felt distorted, the ground uncertain.

Emily looked around, searching for something familiar, a point of reference. Finding nothing, she felt a wave of cold rush over her. She picked up the phone again, her hands shaking, and began to scroll, the images a constant, unsettling tide.