Gemotions

The phone vibrated in her hand. A text from her friend, asking if she wanted to grab dinner. She stared at it, the words blurring. The usual enthusiasm for a night out was gone, replaced by a hollow ache. Professor Ramirez, gone. Her carefully constructed future, suddenly unstable.

She slowly typed back a polite decline, the words feeling clumsy and inadequate. She looked at her reflection in the phone screen – her eyes were wide and unfocused, her face pale. She set the phone down, suddenly unable to bear even the thought of social interaction.

She felt a strong urge to shut out the world. She went to the window, watching the streetlights illuminate the empty street, her gaze distant, lost in a whirlwind of doubt.