Gemotions

The lawyer’s words, a careful recitation of legal jargon, seemed to be happening to someone else. Maria watched the lawyer’s lips move, but the words were a jumble of static. Her own diagnosis, the one she’d been living with for months, had been assigned to another patient. It was all a mistake, a clerical error, but the implications…

She clasped her hands together, a desperate attempt to ground herself. Her palms were slick with perspiration. The air in the room felt thick and heavy, making it difficult to breathe. She opened her mouth to speak, but only a small, strangled sound escaped. Maria looked at the lawyer, her expression frozen.