Gemotions

The acceptance letter practically vibrated in Clara's hand. Accepted into the prestigious writers' workshop! This was it; the beginning of everything. She felt light as air. She ran up the stairs to her flat, eager to share the news with her roommates. The workshop, led by the enigmatic Silas Blackwood, was a stepping stone to glory.

During the first session, Blackwood assigned a reading: his seminal work, *Shadows of the Soul*. She brought it with her. She had been meaning to read it for ages.

As she turned the pages, a wave of nausea rolled over her. Paragraphs that felt achingly familiar jumped out at her. Sentences she’d sweated over, crafted in isolation, were now nestled in Blackwood’s polished prose. The world tilted. Her stomach churned.