Gemotions

From atop the mountain, the world seemed newly painted. Elara had just finished climbing the mountain that was the toughest challenge of her life, and with it, finished her latest novel. A wave of contentment and lightness settled in her, chasing away the doubts and worries that had plagued her during the writing process. She felt ready to take on anything.

She walked into the publishing house, confident and smiling. Her editor greeted her with an unusual look on her face. "Elara," he began, a strange expression on his face, "there's been a... complication."

He gestured towards another author's manuscript, laid out on his desk. The story? The plot? The characters? Identical. A lead weight seemed to settle in Elara's stomach. Her world had suddenly shrunk.