Gemotions

The lawyer’s words echoed in her ears long after she hung up the phone. A sister. A half-sister she knew nothing about. She gripped the steering wheel so hard her knuckles were white.

She pulled over to the side of the road, the car vibrating from the idling engine. The familiar landscape of her commute seemed distorted, the trees looming like silent, judging figures.

She fumbled for her phone, intending to call her mother. She stopped, her finger hovering over the dial button. Maybe later. Right now, she just needed to breathe. To stop the frantic pounding in her chest.

She rested her forehead against the cool glass of the window, tears welling in her eyes. The world had tilted on its axis.