Gemotions

She held her breath as the first few notes filled the auditorium. It was her song, a ballad composed during a particularly stormy period in her life, now being performed by a young, rising star. A wave of heat washed over Maya. She clutched her hands tightly in her lap, knuckles white.

The stage lights seemed to blur, reflecting the tears that pricked at her eyes. The singer's voice was different, more polished, but the emotions, the vulnerability she had poured into the lyrics, were undeniably there. It was as if a ghost from her past was being resurrected, a version of herself she no longer knew. She inhaled slowly, the air thick and heavy in the theatre. A smile touched her lips, soft, fragile. She thought of her past self and a long ago love that had inspired it all.