Gemotions

The relentless thrum of the city outside her apartment window matched the frantic rhythm of Claire's heart. She glanced at the clock, then back at the manuscript lying open on the coffee table. Her stomach churned. The story, a work-in-progress, detailed the life of a woman named Clara, a woman who felt her life was a treadmill, going nowhere.

She and Daniel had been together for years. They shared a life that was both comfortable and stale. Every weekend was the same, every argument, the same. They had a routine, a rhythm, and she had the feeling of being in an endless loop. She went over to his desk. She lifted the cover of his laptop.

It was all there. His observations, his frustrations, his hidden resentments. The protagonist, a woman just like her, was stuck in the same place she was. She felt her face burn with a mixture of anger and sadness. She knew she was being judged.