Gemotions

The sleek, minimalist invitation felt foreign in her hand. A knot tightened in her stomach. The date, the location, the implied expectation – all sent a jolt of anxiety through her.

She sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the card. It felt like a trap, a carefully constructed maze designed to lead her back to a place and time she’d desperately tried to leave behind. She felt a familiar hollowness creeping into her chest.

She stood up abruptly, pacing the room. Her carefully curated life, her carefully constructed persona, felt fragile, threatened. She stopped, staring at her reflection in the mirror, searching for the face of the person she wanted to be, only to find the face of someone she was trying to forget.