Gemotions

The apartment, meticulously cleaned for the event, now felt sterile and unwelcoming. The message, brief and dismissive, had crushed her. She stood in the doorway, the decorations hanging untouched in the living room. The room felt immense and hollow.

She picked up a piece of confetti, letting it drift back to the floor. The joy she had been anticipating had vanished like smoke. She felt a profound sense of loss, a vacuum where happiness should have been.

She wrapped her arms around herself, seeking solace in her own embrace, a frail defense against the overwhelming void.