Gemotions

The phone felt heavy in Elena's hand, the silence on the other end a torturous weight. Her cheeks were burning, her voice catching in her throat as she tried to explain. She’d told her mother the moment she sent off the manuscript. "They didn't like it," she finally choked out, the words barely a whisper. She stared out the window, at the vibrant, bustling street scene below, feeling detached, as if she were watching the world from behind a sheet of glass. The disappointment was a cold, hard knot in her chest.