Gemotions

The news felt like a physical blow. The anticipated rejection from "Golden Quill Publishing" had finally arrived. Sarah held the letter, the paper shaking in her hand. The words swam before her eyes; the polite phrases were imbued with a cruelty she hadn't anticipated.

She paced the length of her tiny apartment, her steps restless and erratic. She kept replaying the scene of her meeting with the editor, remembering her careful promises. The clock ticked loudly on the wall, each second a painful reminder of lost time.

She picked up her phone to call her friend, but then she put it down. She felt unable to speak, to articulate the depth of her disappointment. She felt a knot in her stomach. She went to the window, and stared out at the street, a stranger in her own skin.