Gemotions

A person learns their college is closing down 185 words

The email sat in Amelia’s inbox, a stark white rectangle against the gentle blue of her desktop background. She blinked, the words blurring in her vision. *University to Close Due to Financial Diffi...

A person learns their college is closing down 156 words

Liam stared at the notice board, the paper crumpled in his fist. The announcement about the university’s impending closure was a bright, cruel splash of red among the usual flyers for club meetings ...

A person learns their college is closing down 139 words

The world felt… wrong. Sarah stared at the flickering fluorescent lights of the campus cafeteria, the usual buzz of conversation replaced with a stunned quiet. The announcement, plastered on every a...

A person learns their college is closing down 139 words

The news felt like a punch to the gut. Michael stumbled back against his dorm room door, the paper fluttering to the floor. The university, the place where he'd built his entire world for the last fou...

A person learns their college is closing down 127 words

The professor’s voice, usually so steady and reassuring, cracked slightly as he read the email aloud. The students in the lecture hall were motionless, their faces reflecting a spectrum of emotions:...

A person learns their college is closing down 126 words

Eliza walked through the library, the quiet sanctuary she usually found so comforting. Today, however, the silence was deafening, the stacks of books towering around her like judgmental giants. The ne...

A person learns their college is closing down 116 words

The bus ride home felt unusually long. I stared out the window, watching the familiar landscape of my town whiz by, but it all seemed… distorted. The familiar buildings, the bustling streets, the pe...

A person learns their college is closing down 142 words

The cafeteria worker, Mrs. Rodriguez, was usually smiling, offering a friendly greeting. Today, however, her face was etched with worry, her movements slower, her smile absent. She handed me my usual ...

A person learns their college is closing down 126 words

I woke up, the morning light hitting my face. The announcement about the college had been a dream, surely. I looked around my room, trying to re-orient myself, to find the familiar. It was all still t...

A person learns their college is closing down 113 words

The campus radio, usually playing upbeat pop music, was silent. The silence was unnerving, amplified by the heavy atmosphere. I paced my room, unable to sit still. The news. It was all I could think a...

A neighbor asks to cut down a tree on the property line 111 words

The morning sun felt wrong. It filtered through the leaves, a dappled light that seemed to shift with every breath. He opened the door, blinking against the glare, and found Mrs. Gable standing there,...

A neighbor asks to cut down a tree on the property line 117 words

The coffee tasted like ash. He stared at the empty mug, the ceramic surface reflecting his face back at him, distorted. A knock. It was Mr. Henderson, his gaze intense, pinning him to the spot. “Abo...

A neighbor asks to cut down a tree on the property line 111 words

The world was muted. Sounds arrived filtered, the edges blurred. A hand on his arm, a voice, a question: "Think you could handle it?" The words swam, unintelligible at first, then coalesced into the r...

A neighbor asks to cut down a tree on the property line 105 words

He stumbled out onto the porch, the air heavy and still. A wave of nausea rolled over him. He gripped the railing for support, his knuckles white. There was Mr. Riley, his face a constellation of wrin...

A neighbor asks to cut down a tree on the property line 99 words

The world felt… skewed. He hadn’t slept. The ringing in his ears wouldn't stop. He squinted at the sunlight, his eyes stinging. His neighbor, Sarah, was there, the tree a black silhouette against ...

A neighbor asks to cut down a tree on the property line 111 words

He felt a profound disconnect. The ground beneath his feet seemed to sway. He was barely holding it together. He was standing in front of his house, looking up at the sky. There was a knot of people, ...

A neighbor asks to cut down a tree on the property line 118 words

The world seemed to spin slowly. He blinked, trying to clear his vision. The familiar street felt foreign, as if he were seeing it for the first time. His heart was thudding, his breath coming in shal...

A neighbor asks to cut down a tree on the property line 116 words

He felt like he was watching a play. A play he hadn't rehearsed for. The script was in a language he didn't understand. The scene: the property line, the looming oak, the angry face of Mr. Thompson. "...

A neighbor asks to cut down a tree on the property line 112 words

Everything was too loud. The buzzing of the cicadas, the wind rustling through the leaves, even his own heartbeat. He rubbed his temples, trying to ground himself. His neighbor, David, was standing th...

A neighbor asks to cut down a tree on the property line 104 words

He was floating. Everything felt unreal. The sun felt wrong on his skin. He looked at the woman with the clipboard, his neighbor, Ms. Garcia. She gestured towards the enormous evergreen. He had no ide...

Two strangers discover they share the same rare medical condition 168 words

The lobby was a blur of muted colours, the patterned carpet a dizzying sea. Amelia fumbled for the handrail, her stomach a churning mess. She’d been staring at the receptionist, attempting to recall...

Two strangers discover they share the same rare medical condition 136 words

He found himself wandering through the supermarket, lost amid the towering shelves of cereal boxes. The vibrant colours and endless choices assaulted his senses. He blinked, trying to clear the haze t...

Two strangers discover they share the same rare medical condition 121 words

The world felt…off-kilter. Her hands felt clumsy, and when she reached for the coffee cup on the table, she fumbled and nearly knocked it over. A wave of nausea surged through her, and she squeezed ...

Two strangers discover they share the same rare medical condition 115 words

The concert hall was a cacophony of sound and light. Loud music and a sea of faces. Thomas fought his way through the crowd, struggling to remember the reason he had come. He pressed his palms against...

Two strangers discover they share the same rare medical condition 119 words

The city streets felt alien. The familiar route to work had become a maze. Each turn he took felt wrong, the buildings seemed to shift and change. He kept glancing at his phone, but the map was no hel...

Two strangers discover they share the same rare medical condition 79 words

“Dad, can you read this?” The words on the page blurred. He blinked, but the letters remained blurry. He rubbed his eyes, but the words remained illegible. His daughter’s drawing, normally a sou...

Two strangers discover they share the same rare medical condition 110 words

The doctor's office felt sterile, the air thick with the smell of antiseptic. He sat across from the doctor, listening intently to the doctor's words. But the words seemed to evaporate before they cou...

Two strangers discover they share the same rare medical condition 94 words

The classroom buzzed with chatter, but it was just noise to her. She looked at the test paper. The words were there, on the page, but they held no meaning. It was like trying to decipher a foreign lan...

Two strangers discover they share the same rare medical condition 98 words

He was driving, but the road ahead seemed to stretch into infinity, an endless, monotonous grey. The car felt heavy, the steering wheel an unfamiliar thing. He slowed the vehicle, his heart pounding i...

Two strangers discover they share the same rare medical condition 100 words

The familiar scent of her own house was now a confusing, unsettling thing. She was standing in her kitchen, but she didn’t recognize it. The placement of the objects felt wrong, alien. She didn't un...

Someone receives flowers with no card attached 107 words

The sunflowers sat, a splash of unnatural cheer, on the otherwise bare kitchen table. Their bright faces stared up at her. She blinked, the room tilting slightly. It wasn’t the angle of the flowers,...

Someone receives flowers with no card attached 121 words

He stared at the lilies, their perfume a sharp, cloying sweetness. His head throbbed, a dull ache that seemed to emanate from the space behind his eyes. He didn’t recognize the handwriting on the de...

Someone receives flowers with no card attached 106 words

The roses, a deep, velvety red, bled into the harsh afternoon light. Sarah frowned, picking up a single bloom, its soft petals brushing against her cheek. She was certain she hadn't given anyone her a...

Someone receives flowers with no card attached 95 words

The bouquet of mixed wildflowers sat on the counter, a riot of color that clashed with the muted tones of the room. He circled them slowly, like an animal considering a trap. He checked the mailbox a...

Someone receives flowers with no card attached 87 words

The lilies, pure white, offered a stark contrast to the cluttered apartment. I picked them up, my fingers brushing against the cold, smooth leaves. I had no idea who sent them. My heart hammered agai...

Someone receives flowers with no card attached 93 words

The irises, a vibrant purple, practically jumped out at him from the plain wooden table. His brow furrowed. He felt a strange disconnect with his surroundings, as if he were viewing them through a war...

Someone receives flowers with no card attached 98 words

She stared at the carnations, their bright pink a jarring note against the muted decor of her bedroom. Panic tightened her chest. She couldn't place the flowers' origin, or the details of her life bef...

Someone receives flowers with no card attached 101 words

He examined the roses, each velvety petal perfect. He hadn’t bought them. He couldn't remember *buying* anything recently. The simple act of looking at the flowers felt like scaling a mountain of un...

Someone receives flowers with no card attached 91 words

The tulips, a cheerful yellow, sat on the small table in the hallway, almost mocking her. Where had they come from? She knew no one who would send flowers. She sat heavily on the floor, the tiles coo...

Someone receives flowers with no card attached 107 words

The orchids, a delicate shade of lavender, occupied the center of the small table in the corner of his apartment. He found himself incapable of recalling the last twenty-four hours, the details of a d...

Someone discovers their partner has been writing a novel about them 97 words

The mug slipped from Amelia’s grasp, shattering on the kitchen tile. Not because she was clumsy, no. More like her mind was a blizzard, each thought a swirling, unseen flake. She stared at the fragm...

Someone discovers their partner has been writing a novel about them 114 words

He found the laptop in the guest room, tucked under a floral throw pillow. Liam wasn't snooping, not really. Just looking for the charger. His heart hammered a frantic rhythm against his ribs. The scr...

Someone discovers their partner has been writing a novel about them 96 words

The scent of jasmine, always Emma’s favorite, now made Sarah’s stomach churn. She walked through the familiar living room, and the objects surrounding her seemed to hum, vibrating with an energy s...

Someone discovers their partner has been writing a novel about them 104 words

The air in the bedroom felt thick, almost suffocating. David slammed the door, the sound sharp and alien in the otherwise silent house. He’d found the manuscript in a locked drawer. He felt a deep, ...

Someone discovers their partner has been writing a novel about them 98 words

The world felt muted, as if someone had turned down the volume. A strange quiet had settled over everything. Claire sat on the sofa, clutching the open book to her chest. It was a novel, a very famili...

Someone discovers their partner has been writing a novel about them 93 words

He stared at the page, the words dancing and shifting before his eyes. The words were about him, and they were, somehow, *not* about him. Daniel felt adrift, as if he'd stepped into a parallel dimensi...

Someone discovers their partner has been writing a novel about them 103 words

The vibrant colors of the living room seemed to bleed together. The familiar scent of cinnamon, usually so comforting, now brought a knot to Eva's stomach. She'd found it in the notes app on her partn...

Someone discovers their partner has been writing a novel about them 86 words

The silence of the apartment pressed in on him. He felt as though the world had suddenly become a blurred watercolor painting. John had walked in and seen the laptop screen. He stared, unblinking, at ...

Someone discovers their partner has been writing a novel about them 104 words

The sun streaming through the window felt uncomfortably bright. Emily held the book as if it were a fragile bird, its pages threatening to disintegrate in her grasp. The story, a fictionalized version...

Someone discovers their partner has been writing a novel about them 108 words

He woke up with a start, his heart hammering against his ribs. Leo sat up in bed, instantly registering the book on the nightstand. The title, *The Inescapable Truth*, made him feel a sense of dread. ...