Gemotions

The room spun. Sarah looked at her hands, balled into fists. The speeches, the slideshow, the laughter – it was all too much. She’d tried to avoid this, but her mother had insisted. She remembered her father’s constant absences, the broken promises, the way his career had always come first.

She grasped the microphone, the plastic cool against her sweaty palms. She looked directly at her father, who wore a look of self-satisfied contentment. “Well,” she began, her voice tight, “it's been a long time coming, hasn't it?”

The silence that followed was palpable, filled with unspoken accusations. She took a breath, trying to control the shaking in her limbs. She wanted him to feel.