Gemotions

The news felt like a physical blow to Emily. Her college, her second home, was closing. She was shocked, and her fingers fumbled as she tried to compose herself.

Her gaze drifted to the framed photograph on her desk - a picture of her and her friends, laughing in front of the campus library. She studied their faces, each a reminder of shared experiences and inside jokes.

She pictured the library, with its musty smell and hushed atmosphere, and the hours she spent poring over books, dreaming of her future. She felt a phantom warmth on her cheeks, as though she could still feel the sunshine of a particular spring afternoon. It would all vanish.