Gemotions

Rain lashed against the windows, mirroring the torrent inside Maya. She watched Daniel, her Daniel, effortlessly pronounce the complex guttural sounds of her mother tongue. He was laughing, animated, joking with her abuela over the phone. A knot tightened in her chest, a feeling of being left out, of something valuable being taken from her. She retreated to the bedroom, the cheerful sounds of her heritage, now foreign, still reaching her through the closed door.

She ran her fingers over the smooth wood of her nightstand, a gift from her father. His absence, like a phantom limb, ached with a constant presence. Daniel, with his newfound fluency, could now communicate with her family in a way she often struggled. It felt… isolating.

She pulled the covers over her head, the darkness offering a small measure of comfort, of escape.