Gemotions

The afternoon sun, warm on her skin, still couldn't thaw the ice that had formed in her heart. She was sitting in the park, as they used to do. A text message arrived from Olivia, accompanied by a photo of them on a carousel. The bright colours and joyful expressions were a painful contrast to her current state.

"That day was magical," Olivia had written. "Remember how happy we were?"

She remembered the dizzying ride, the childish glee, but the memory was tainted. She also recalled the suffocating feeling of trying to be someone she wasn't, of the constant effort to maintain a facade of happiness. The carousel's music seemed hollow now. The bright, cheerful snapshot felt like a distant, unreachable paradise. She closed her eyes.