Gemotions

From the moment the shimmering card appeared, Carol was a coiled spring of anxious energy. Every waking moment was plagued by the relentless soundtrack of self-doubt. She barely ate. Her sleep was fractured.

She reread the invitation repeatedly, as if studying a battlefield strategy. The location, the date, the guest list – all weapons designed to wound. Her fingers fidgeted, tracing the elegant script.

She stood in front of her closet, overwhelmed. Everything she owned felt wrong, inadequate. The clothes she considered wearing were all the wrong brands, all the wrong styles.

The mirror revealed a stranger, a woman etched with worry lines and a palpable sense of unease. “They’ll see right through you,” a voice inside her head whispered.