Gemotions

The doctor’s words hung in the air, a thick, suffocating fog. Amelia felt a cold dread creep up her spine, like icy tendrils searching for purchase. She stared at the man across from her, a stranger named David, whose face mirrored her own suddenly pale complexion. His eyes were wide, and his jaw worked silently. He kept reaching out to touch his own chest, then pulling his hand back, as if afraid to confirm the reality. They both had the same anomaly. *Fibrous dysplasia of the periosteum.* A condition so rare, the doctor had said, it was almost statistically impossible.

Amelia’s breath hitched in her throat. The sterile white of the medical exam room suddenly felt oppressive, the fluorescent lights buzzing with an unbearable intensity. She felt a wave of nausea. She had lived with this for years, and now, *he* knew what it was like.

“This… this can’t be…” David finally stammered, his voice thin and reedy.