Gemotions

"High School Reunion," she muttered, the words tasting like ash in her mouth. She clutched the invitation, the paper crinkling under her grip. Her apartment felt too quiet, the silence amplifying the weight in her heart.

She remembered the laughter, the cliques, the constant comparisons. She hadn’t fit in then, and she certainly didn't feel like she fit in now. The familiar feeling of isolation, a dull, pervasive ache, returned.

She found herself replaying old mistakes, past disappointments swirling in her mind. She pictured herself at the reunion, a solitary figure on the periphery, a forgotten face. Her shoulders slumped; the prospect was simply unbearable.