Gemotions

The hospital waiting room was filled with the usual anxieties, the hushed conversations, the anxious pacing. Emily tapped her foot against the tiled floor, the rhythmic drumming a counterpoint to the racing pulse in her chest. She re-read the message, the blunt declaration from the DNA website, *There is no match to any existing family records.*

Her hands were clammy, slick with sweat. Her mother was inside, undergoing a routine checkup. She’d always been so close to her mother. The thought of confronting her with this truth made her stomach clench.

She pushed herself up and walked to the entrance of the hospital, ignoring the sting of the bright sunlight. She needed air. Needed to breathe.