Gemotions

The vibrant colors of the carnival, once a source of pure joy, now seemed garish, overwhelming. Sarah watched Amelia laugh at a game, and something inside of her twisted. It was a laugh she once knew intimately, but now it sounded alien, disconnected.

"Remember that time we rode the Ferris wheel until we were sick?" Sarah blurted out, her voice shaky. Amelia blinked, her brow furrowing in confusion.

Sarah felt a sudden, fierce heat in her cheeks, her hands clenching into fists. The bright lights of the carousel blurred, the music grinding on her nerves. The joy of the carnival, the joy of the past, was not for her.

She excused herself abruptly, pushing past the crowd with a muttered apology. She needed to breathe, to escape the suffocating presence of this stranger who bore her best friend's face.