Gemotions

The letter, carefully worded and politely impersonal, sat on the kitchen table. Maria, after finally opening the letter, felt a wave of emptiness wash over her. It was as if her vision had lost its clarity. She moved the letter closer to her eyes, scrutinizing the page as though a hidden message lay within. She had a goal. And, with the application denied, it seemed the goal had completely vanished.

She walked over to the window, the image of trees and streetlights outside now seemed skewed. She stared out, unseeing, her fingers tracing the outline of the frame. Her breath came in shallow, uneven gasps. The feeling was a strange, hollow ache.