Gemotions

She stood in the shower for an extended period, the water cold and running. She did not feel the chill. The rejection notice sat on the bathroom counter. The dream she’d poured herself into was gone, and she was left hollowed out.

She no longer felt hunger. Her apartment was slowly falling to pieces, with no motivation to change anything. She stared out the window, looking at the distant trees. It was hard to breathe.

She thought of the editor’s words. The manuscript was not what they were looking for. The weight of that assessment was crushing. The world outside, the world of opportunity, of joy, seemed impossibly far away.