Gemotions

She stared at the birthday card, the bright colors jarring against the grayness of her mood. "Happy Birthday," the words declared, like a cruel joke. Another year older, and exactly where she’d always been, right in the same place. She balled the card up in her fist, then slowly let go of the crumpled paper.

She walked through her house, the familiar objects now seemed suffocating. She wanted to go somewhere. Anywhere. She thought about driving for miles and miles, maybe to the ocean. She needed to breathe. But the idea of planning, of leaving, felt like climbing a mountain. She collapsed onto the sofa. The silence in the house echoed her own, private despair.