Gemotions

The telephone call was over, but the words remained. The editor’s polite regrets felt like a physical blow. Sarah stared at the phone as the receiver lay in her hand. Her world tilted.

She saw the announcement online. The publisher had taken on a new author - someone with a book eerily similar to her own. Sarah had been working on her manuscript for years. She went to the window, watching the rain pour down. She thought about all the hours, the sacrifices, the sleepless nights.

She paced the length of her apartment, the sound of her footsteps echoing in the silence. The publisher’s rejection, coupled with the announcement, felt like a cruel joke.