Gemotions

The kitchen was a mess of flour and cookie cutters, but Maya barely noticed. The drawings of her nephew, Alex, were scattered across the counter. Every single one featured that same, terrifying creature. The one she had spent years trying to forget. The one she could not hide.

Maya swept her arm across the counter, knocking over a jar of sprinkles. The sound of the glass shattering did nothing to quell the internal turmoil. The thing was getting closer to her, and she felt suffocated.

She stared at the pieces of glass on the floor, the remnants of what was supposed to be a happy day. She took a ragged breath and clenched her fists, and she began to slowly clean up the mess. But nothing changed. It was still there.