Gemotions

The message was innocuous enough: "Sounds like a blast!" It wasn't to her, however. It was a reply to her best friend, Anna, from a man she found herself drawn to. She watched as her friend replied with a smiley face emoji. Her mood darkened.

She put the phone away, but the image remained. It was a clear portrait of what she hadn't got. She went to the fridge and grabbed a beer, downing it in a few gulps. The alcohol did little to soothe her.

Later, unable to settle, she found herself staring at the ceiling. The silence of the room was oppressive. The text message, like a tiny seed, had blossomed into an unwelcome garden of unsettling thoughts and anxieties.