Gemotions

The announcement came while she was teaching her class. Professor Alvarez, a long-time faculty member, read the email and felt a jolt of disbelief. The words seemed to blur. She continued the lecture, but her voice felt distant, mechanical.

Her hands shook as she attempted to write on the whiteboard. The chalk snapped, scattering dust. She excused herself early, her throat suddenly constricted.

Later, she walked the familiar campus, the architecture once a source of comfort, now a painful reminder of lost time and wasted potential.