Gemotions

The email sat in Amelia’s inbox, a stark white rectangle against the usual stream of university announcements. Her fingers hovered over the mouse, as if the cursor itself were hesitant to click. *Important Announcement Regarding University Operations*. She finally clicked, and the words swam before her eyes. Closing? The university was… closing? She reread the sentence three times, each pass feeling more unreal than the last. She blinked hard, the fluorescent lights in the library suddenly too bright. Her breath hitched.

Her hand drifted up to her mouth, fingers gently tracing her lower lip. She looked around, at the students hunched over books, the librarians shelving volumes, the comforting rhythm of the library's quiet hum. It all felt… fractured. Like a beloved object shattered, and she was left holding a single, unexplainable shard. A knot tightened in her stomach.

She thought of her classes, her friends, her future. What was going to happen? She felt a chill creep up her spine, and she shivered involuntarily. The library, once a safe haven, now felt like a fragile bubble about to burst.