Gemotions

The waiting room seemed to shrink with each delayed announcement. "Again?" she gasped, her voice barely a whisper. She stared, unblinking, at the departure board, each updated delay carving deeper lines around her mouth. She had to get to her ailing mother.

The air in the room felt thick and heavy, and she found it difficult to breathe. Her vision swam, the brightly lit signs and advertisements blurring into a kaleidoscope of meaningless color. She rubbed her arms, her hands clammy with cold sweat.

The silence that surrounded her was deafening, punctuated only by the low hum of the machines and the shuffling of feet. She closed her eyes, picturing her mother, praying for a miracle.