Gemotions

From the moment Chef Mei read the review, she had felt a deep sickness. The critic's pronouncements, scathing and impersonal, clung to her like a shroud. She couldn't eat. She couldn't sleep.

She locked herself in her apartment, the silence amplifying her internal chaos. She stared at the dishes in the sink, the residue of her last meal a constant reminder of her failure. The world felt wrong.

She picked up the phone, intending to call her mentor, but stopped. He would just tell her to take a deep breath. She didn't want to breathe; she wanted to disappear. She let it drop back on the table.