Gemotions

The email arrived like a tiny bomb. Sarah read the subject line: "Your Essay Featured!" Her heart leaped, then immediately plummeted. Her essay, “The Color of Rain,” was being used in a high school writing workshop as a positive example. She felt a strange buzzing in her ears.

She instinctively reached for her hair, twisting it into tight knots. The feeling was a knot in her stomach, twisting. She went back to the email and reread the link. She opened the page and watched the words of her essay flash on the screen. The accompanying photo of her from her college's alumni page felt inappropriate.

She closed her laptop, the screen reflecting her own distorted face. She stood up abruptly and started pacing her apartment, the hardwood floor creaking under her hurried steps. Why did they choose this one? What did it mean? She had no answers.