Gemotions

The swirling colors on the TV screen blurred, matching the fuzziness that seemed to have taken root behind Amelia's eyes. She barely registered the cheery voice announcing the results. “You have a close match! A first cousin once removed.” The email, detailing the DNA results, sat open on her laptop, but Amelia couldn’t bring herself to focus. It was the afternoon, and the sun cast long shadows across her sparsely furnished apartment, making everything seem longer, slower. She lifted a hand, tracing the dust motes dancing in a sunbeam.

A small tremor ran through her. A feeling of… yielding. She hadn’t expected this. She thought she knew everything. She certainly *felt* like she knew everything. Then again, she always thought the sky was the same color every day.

She closed her laptop with a soft click, the sound echoing in the stillness. A quiet sigh escaped her lips as she leaned back into the worn cushions of her couch. She knew she should feel something, anything. But the feeling was more like existing in a vast expanse of air, one that offered no resistance, no purchase.