Gemotions

The email arrived like a punch to the gut. Elara, a shy and reserved art student, had been thrilled to receive the funding, a critical boon for her studio supplies. Now, the scholarship was to be revoked, a clerical blunder. The email sat, mocking her, in the glowing screen.

Her stomach churned, a knot of anxiety tightening with each passing second. She felt a strong urge to hide. She closed her laptop, her fingers hovering over the power button. Images of the other students in her class, their effortless talent and polished portfolios, paraded through her mind.

She could barely bring herself to look at her own work, the half-finished canvas now a symbol of her supposed inadequacy. She felt a burning need to disappear, to melt into the background and cease to exist.