Gemotions

The doctor’s pronouncements had barely finished when Amelia slammed her file shut. “Impossible.” The single word hung in the sterile air of the clinic. The doctor, a man whose face seemed permanently etched with an air of weary patience, simply raised a brow. She felt a prickle of heat crawl up her neck. This couldn’t be happening. She was meticulous with her health, a creature of habit. This diagnosis felt like a personal affront.

She glared at the test results, then at the doctor. Everything felt wrong, the fluorescent lights buzzing overhead, the bland beige walls, everything. Her gaze flicked to the elderly man sitting next to her, who had been listening to the entire conversation. He was just smiling! As if the news was nothing!

“So, you’re saying I have it too?” the old man asked, his voice a gravelly rumble. Amelia’s jaw tightened. He sounded… pleased. The audacity!