Gemotions

The courtroom buzzed with anticipation. I shifted on the hard wooden bench, wishing I could disappear. Facing the defendant, a man who, I’d just learned, shared my strange susceptibility to sound, the tension was unbearable.

He seemed to understand, though. His eyes, fixed on mine, were an open book. The shared sensitivity, the constant struggle to manage the noise. We shared a weakness.

The lawyer's voice, amplified by the courtroom's acoustics, pierced the air. The defendant’s face was pale. My face mirrored his. We were both exposed, vulnerable, stripped bare before a judging world. I wanted to escape, to run and hide.