Gemotions

The email notification had arrived at 3:00 AM. Sleep was impossible after that. Emily stared at the screen, the image of her childhood home mocking her. The "Before and After" shots of the kitchen renovation were particularly cruel. She had spent countless hours in that kitchen with her mother, baking cookies. Her heart was in her throat.

She tried to drink a glass of water, but her hand shook so violently, she spilled half of it. The apartment felt too small, too confining. She paced, her bare feet slapping against the wooden floorboards, a frantic rhythm accompanying the racing thoughts in her head.