Gemotions

The news hit Martha like a physical blow. Her daughter, Emily, her bright, intelligent Emily, was going to become a Hare Krishna devotee. Martha felt a knot tighten in her stomach, a burning sensation that reached into her throat. She gripped her chest, gasping for breath. The room seemed to shrink, the walls closing in. She stared at Emily, her eyes wide, searching for a sign, a glimmer of the daughter she knew. The silence was deafening, broken only by the frantic pounding of her own heart.