Gemotions

He’d envisioned this moment a thousand times: the email, the acceptance, the validation. Now, scrolling through the online journal, Daniel felt a different kind of recognition – a gut-wrenching, twisting sensation. His article, on the socio-economic effects of urban farming, was there, published. But the author's name wasn’t his. It belonged to the department head, Ms. Eleanor Vance.

Daniel's fingers fumbled as he attempted to contact the journal. Each keystroke felt laborious, almost impossible. He re-read the article, desperate to find some sign, some hint that this was a mistake. But the words, his words, were meticulously, cruelly, attributed to her.

He slammed his fist on his desk, the abrupt noise a release for the pressure building inside. His head throbbed. He felt a desperate need to run, to escape the confines of his office, the walls that now seemed to be closing in.