Gemotions

A cold sweat slicked down Marcus’s back. He’d just heard the diagnosis, the same one he'd stumbled upon during hours of frantic online research, a search fueled by years of unexplained bone pain and deformities. Across the exam room table, a young woman with a meticulously braided ponytail stared at him, her face a mask of shock.

He swallowed hard, the lump in his throat making it difficult to breathe. He remembered the doctor's words. Rare. Incredibly rare. He found himself studying her hands, the way she clasped them together, as if to hold herself together. It was something he had often done himself.

“So… you too?” he managed to croak out, the question hanging in the air. He felt a dizzying sensation, like the world tilted on its axis. He couldn’t process it.