Gemotions

It wasn’t until they were both seated at the same table in the support group that the full weight of the situation landed on her. The meeting was about *Congenital Erythropoietic Porphyria.* Each person's face was a study in empathy and understanding. When it was his turn to speak, John described his symptoms, the sensitivity to light, the discolored teeth. She’d known for years what it was like.

When she introduced herself, she saw his eyes widen. His jaw dropped. "But… you’re…"

She finished the sentence for him. “…you are too.”

She felt an overwhelming urge to run, to escape the suffocating presence of this shared, impossible reality.