Gemotions

The email notification had been a mistake. She hadn’t meant to click on it. It had been from a social media platform, confirming a password reset. For a second account. Her daughter, Sarah, who insisted she only used one platform, had *another* one. A secret one. A wave of ice shot through her, leaving her suddenly lightheaded.

Her legs felt shaky as she clicked on the link. The page loaded slowly, each second feeling like an eternity. The account was everything she feared: a curated image, a rebellion against the carefully constructed image of a good girl. She felt a throbbing pulse in her temples, a dizzying feeling of dislocation.

She'd built her own world, carefully. A world of trust, a world of open communication, a world of…what now? She couldn't breathe. She had to sit down. Now.