Gemotions

The flickering screen illuminated Sarah’s face as she scrolled through the fake profile. She’d found it by accident, a suggested friend on her daughter Emily’s real account. Her heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic bird trapped in a cage. Each post, each comment, chipped away at the foundation of what she thought she knew. Emily, who baked cookies and volunteered at the animal shelter, was now…someone else.

Her hand trembled as she closed the laptop. The silence of the house pressed in on her, heavy and suffocating. She walked to the kitchen, poured a glass of water, and found she couldn't bring herself to drink it. The words, the pictures, they swirled in her mind, a dizzying kaleidoscope of unfamiliarity.

She felt a coldness creep across her skin, a sensation like being exposed to a winter wind. She wanted to scream, to lash out, but instead, she just sat there, staring blankly at the wall, the world tilting precariously on its axis.