Gemotions

"Just breathe," Maya muttered, the words barely audible over the crackling airport intercom. Her hands trembled as she clutched the boarding pass, the flimsy piece of paper now feeling like a burden. The scholarship ceremony, the culmination of years of hard work, was happening without her.

She'd envisioned the scene a thousand times: the proud smile of her parents, the thrill of receiving the award. Now, she was stranded, her carefully constructed dreams dissolving into the vast expanse of the delay. She felt the tears welling up, and blinked them back, biting hard on her lip to keep them from falling.