Gemotions

"Impossible," Claire whispered, her voice barely audible. The letter, delivered that morning, lay open on the kitchen counter. A half-brother. The notion was absurd, unbelievable. The world seemed to tilt on its axis.

She felt a cold dread creeping into her bones. Her carefully constructed life, her sense of security, crumbled. She reached for the phone, then hesitated, her hand hovering in mid-air.

She stared out the window, at the world that had become unfamiliar. The world that had changed. She felt a profound sense of isolation. Everything in her life seemed to have gone sideways.