Gemotions

The late afternoon sun warmed Maya’s back as she typed the final lines of code. A small smile played on her lips; it was a perfect day. She leaned back in her chair, the satisfying click of her spine a punctuation mark on the months of work. The app, a community garden organizer, was finally complete. A quick email to the investors, a celebratory stretch, then a text to Liam to celebrate.

He arrived promptly, a bottle of champagne in hand. "Let's toast to success!" he announced, his eyes sparkling. Then, he paused. "So, how’s your project coming along? Mine's just about done."

A sudden chill, a sense of falling, gripped her.

“Mine too,” Maya said, her voice small. Liam pulled up his project on his laptop and showed Maya a near-identical user interface. The color drained from her face.