Gemotions

The afternoon sun cast long shadows, but the warmth did nothing to penetrate the chill that settled in Anna’s bones. She’d spent the day in a fugue state, the world around her appearing flat and colorless. Now, she found herself in her boyfriend, Ben's, study, drawn to a hidden corner. She found his notebook on the desk, the cover inscribed, “The Ghost in the Machine.”

Her eyes scanned the pages, her stomach twisting. It was about her. The story described her anxieties, her vulnerabilities, her obsessive need for control. He'd even included her secret childhood nickname, a detail she'd guarded fiercely. She felt as though a veil had been ripped away, leaving her exposed and vulnerable. A sense of profound loneliness washed over her.