Gemotions

The silence of the art studio amplified the sounds of her own breath. Maya stared at the canvas, the blank white surface mocking her lack of inspiration. She'd been staring at it for hours, and the only thing she had produced was a smudge of paint.

A notification popped up from her sister, Chloe: “Remember that art exhibition last year? You were the star!”

Maya’s stomach churned slightly. Exhibition? She remembered hiding in the corner, feeling exposed and vulnerable. She barely spoke to anyone, and everyone seemed to be talking over her.

“I remember wishing I was somewhere else," she texted back.

Chloe wrote: “Everyone loved your pieces! The critics raved! Such a success!”

Maya could only recall the sting of self-doubt, the feeling of not belonging. It did not match her sisters memories in the slightest.