Gemotions

"You were going to study what?" The question, laced with a pitying tone, cut through the air. Jessica had just told her grandmother the news at a family gathering. The elderly woman’s expression of concern was almost more than she could bear. She stammered a response, but the words felt clumsy and inadequate. She wanted to scream. She wanted to disappear. She picked at the tablecloth, tracing the floral pattern with her fingertip, avoiding the eyes of her relatives. The silence was deafening.