Gemotions

The news reporter, microphone shoved in her face, felt like a crow pecking at her open wound. Emily felt her body tense, her shoulders hunching inward. The camera’s lens felt invasive, predatory. The details of the crime, the gruesome specifics, were replayed again and again in her mind, a relentless loop of horror. She wanted to run, to disappear into the anonymity of the crowd. Instead, she stood frozen, a statue of quiet suffering, her eyes fixed on the pavement. She wished she had never come outside.