Gemotions

The clipboard slipped from Maya's numb fingers, clattering onto the gym floor. The list swam before her eyes, blurring the names of the selected for the national gymnastics team. Her name wasn't there. She'd poured her entire life into this, sacrificing everything for this moment.

She felt a strange disconnect, as if her body wasn't her own. Each breath was shallow, a desperate gasp for air. Tears welled, blurring the already indistinct words on the page.

Her coach, a stern woman with a perpetual frown, clapped her on the shoulder. "Tough break, Maya. Keep training. There's always next year." The words sounded hollow, like echoes in an empty canyon. Maya just nodded, unable to speak, the taste of ash in her mouth.