Gemotions

The dog-eared manuscript lay on the nightstand, open to a chapter titled, “The Unremarkable Weekend.” Amelia’s jaw clenched. She felt a heat rising in her chest, a slow burn that spread to the tips of her ears. The protagonist, a woman named Clara, spent her days doing laundry, watching daytime television, and sighing dramatically. Exactly the kind of life Amelia, a successful architect, actively worked to avoid.

She slammed the book shut, the sound echoing in the silent bedroom. The pages, filled with her partner, Thomas's, neat handwriting, felt suddenly heavy, like bricks. She stormed into the living room, grabbing the remote and switching the channel to a documentary on Antarctic exploration, hoping to drown out the sudden cacophony of her own thoughts.

“Thomas,” she called, her voice tight, “what is this?”