Gemotions

The email arrived mid-afternoon, a stark white rectangle in the cluttered inbox. Sarah stared at the subject line – "Important Announcement Regarding the Future of [Company Name]" – and felt a peculiar lightness in her stomach. It was like the elevator she'd just ridden up to her office had suddenly dropped a few floors. She clicked, and the words swam before her eyes.

Her hand trembled slightly as she reached for her lukewarm coffee. The ceramic mug felt unusually heavy. She needed to sit down, the feeling of the floor seeming to tilt beneath her. She swivelled her chair away from the screen, staring out the window at the bustling street below. Everything looked... different.

"Well, that's just fantastic," she muttered to the empty room. Her voice sounded thin, unfamiliar. The carefully curated plans she'd made for the next few years suddenly felt fragile, like they could shatter with the slightest touch.