Gemotions

The air in the sunroom was thick with the scent of old paper and fading ink. Sarah ran her finger along the surface of a photograph, a picture of her mother, a woman who always preached the importance of selflessness and sacrifice. The image showed her mother at a glamorous party, laughing with a man who wasn't her father. A bitter taste coated Sarah’s tongue.

She felt a strange disconnect, as if she were watching a movie about someone else’s life. Every warm memory, every act of kindness suddenly seemed to have a hidden price. The narrative she had lived in, of her mother's steadfast love, now felt like a carefully constructed fiction.

Sarah closed her eyes, the familiar world suddenly warped and unrecognizable.