Gemotions

The email shimmered on Clara’s phone screen. She nearly dropped the device, the silver metal slick with the excited sweat of her palm. She’d been waiting for this – the response from "Celestial Books" – for so long, she’d practically forgotten the feeling of anticipation. Now it was here, in stark black and white. She read it again, her jaw working as if she were chewing on something impossibly delicious. A small, involuntary giggle escaped her.

She skipped through her apartment, her bare feet slapping against the wooden floorboards. The sun, streaming through the window, seemed to have taken on a new brilliance. She yanked open the fridge, grabbed a carton of orange juice, and chugged it down straight from the container, letting the sweet liquid trickle down her chin. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt so light, so utterly untethered.

“Yes!” she breathed, throwing her hands up in the air. The rejection letter might as well have been a winning lottery ticket.