Gemotions

The small, handwritten list lay on the coffee table. *Visit Paris. Learn to paint. Adopt a cat*. Chloe felt the pressure building in her chest. Her mother, a woman who had always seemed so carefree, had harbored ambitions that now felt impossible to achieve. Her breath came in short, shallow gasps.

She stared out the window, watching the rain streak down the glass. The air felt heavy, stagnant. Her phone buzzed; a reminder of a looming work deadline. She felt a wave of dizziness wash over her.

She desperately needed a moment of escape.