Gemotions

The professor’s office door felt heavy, an insurmountable barrier. Emily clutched the email in her hand, the words a branding iron against her skin. She had to talk to someone, anyone. The weight of the situation felt immense.

She knocked, her knuckles rapping loudly against the wood, as if trying to break through the facade she had constructed. Her voice was a croak when the professor gestured her to come in. The room seemed suddenly stifling, the air thick with unspoken truths.

She sat, her hands trembling in her lap. The professor’s words, intended to be consoling, felt like another blow. Tears welled up in her eyes, blurring the already indistinct shapes of the room. She wanted to disappear, to vanish into the shadows.