Gemotions

The stale air in Jessica's apartment felt suffocating. She sat hunched on her couch, the silence pressing in around her. The doorbell. Another unwanted intrusion. A book. Her life's narrative.

Her heart pounded as she opened the package. The author portrayed her as strong, independent, successful. The words rang hollow. She felt the opposite: weak, reliant on everyone, a failure. Each sentence of the book became a weapon, a testament to what she had failed to achieve.

She closed the book, the weight of it settling in her stomach like a stone. A cold sweat broke out on her brow. The entire facade of the biography felt false. She remained unmoving for hours, consumed by a quiet despair, the world around her seemingly turning grey.