Gemotions

The envelope felt heavy in Maya's hands, containing the answers she’d unknowingly sought for years. She sat on the porch swing, the late afternoon sun casting long shadows across the yard. The results revealed a different family tree, one she never knew existed. A gnawing discomfort settled in her chest. She had always leaned on her family. She had always had a safety net, a place to return. Now the support system felt like it was gone.

She texted her adoptive sister, the message filled with a childlike vulnerability she hadn't felt in years. She needed to tell someone. The reply, a heart emoji, did little to soothe the tremor in her hands. She wanted to be told everything would be okay. She wanted them to tell her everything was the same.

That night, she couldn’t sleep. She walked through her childhood home, touching familiar objects, the chipped paint on the kitchen cabinets, the worn spots on the wooden floorboards. She wanted to burrow into the past, to find the comfort she'd always found there. She felt like she was a frightened child, lost in a crowded market.