Gemotions

The lawyer’s office was cold, impersonal. The air conditioning hummed, a constant, grating noise. Sarah sat across from him, the documents spread out on the polished mahogany table. Her name, his name – a name she’d never heard before – their father's name. It was all so surreal.

She tried to concentrate, to take in the information, but her mind was a jumble. Her palms were slick with sweat. The lawyer droned on about legalities and inheritance, but all she could hear was a buzzing in her ears.

She excused herself to use the restroom, her legs shaky as she walked. In the small, tiled space, she leaned against the cool wall, her eyes squeezed shut, willing the rising tide of panic to recede.