Gemotions

"Oh, fantastic," Susan muttered, her voice laced with sarcasm. The notification was from Mark, the boy who'd always been adored. She slammed her laptop shut. Mark, now living a life of apparent bliss with a family and a big, beautiful house in the suburbs. Susan felt a sudden wave of heat. She went outside, into her garden. The roses she had planted were not blooming. She sighed.

Susan was working on a start-up. Progress was slow, and the path to success was uncertain. The pressure felt immense. She stared at the unkempt state of her garden. She hated it, but she lacked the time and energy to care for it. Her home suddenly felt uninviting and bare.

She opened the phone again and scrolled through Mark’s pictures, each one meticulously curated, perfectly lit. The perfection of his life felt like a direct affront to her own struggles. Susan felt a prickling sensation in her hands. She felt as though she needed to run, to escape the suffocating sense of… something.