Gemotions

The list, typed and printed on pristine white paper, lay innocently on the desk. She’d found it while looking for a stapler. He was the most methodical person she knew. But now, it all felt like a carefully constructed facade. “Skydiving.” “Learn to sail.” “Find myself.”

A sharp pain, like a shard of ice, pierced her heart. She felt a suffocating feeling, like the air had been sucked from the room. Her vision swam. The last item was a blow: “Find a place I can call my own, alone.”

She stared at the words, a cold dread washing over her. She felt a sudden urge to flee, to escape this room, this life. She felt the need to claw at her face. The room felt stifling.