Gemotions

The rejection letter, crisp and official, lay on the kitchen table next to a half-eaten bowl of cereal. Amelia picked it up, her fingers tracing the embossed logo of "Veridian Press." A small smile played on her lips. She had done it. She had actually *submitted* her manuscript. A warm flush spread through her chest. Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating dust motes dancing in the air. She’d always dreamed of this, of the possibility, the fight. Now, she would have to get back to the work.

The phone rang, and she snatched it up, expecting her sister, but it was her mother. “How are you, darling?” her mother asked. Amelia’s voice was bright. “Fine, Mom! Wonderful, actually. I just finished my breakfast and am about to start writing again!” She thought of how far she’d come, from the days of hesitant drafts to the bold act of sending her manuscript out into the world.