Gemotions

The cafeteria was loud and chaotic, but the silence between them was deafening. Across the metal table, the other patient, a young man named Liam, looked at her with a mix of pity and fascination. "So," he said, finally, his voice hesitant, "They said you're… the other one." Her stomach twisted.

They sat there, not discussing her medical condition, but her. He kept staring, as if she were a specimen in a jar. Her skin prickled. How many times had she endured this: the wide-eyed gaze, the hushed whispers, the feeling of being something less than human?

She stood up abruptly, knocking over her half-eaten sandwich. The other patient stared at the mess, his face showing clear surprise. Without a word, she spun and fled.