Gemotions

The air conditioning blasted cold, but Clara felt a flush creep up her neck. Her palms were clammy, and she could barely hold her pen. This revelation— it stole her breath. The very structure of her day, her life, had been altered.

She stared blankly at the screen in front of her, the spreadsheets and graphs seeming like meaningless hieroglyphs. It was all a mirage, a fleeting dream. She wanted to scream, to lash out, but instead, she just sat, utterly still.

The thought of moving on was the worst part of it. What was she going to do? Where would she go? The world outside her office seemed daunting, a vast and uncertain place. She just wanted to crawl back into bed and never get up.