Gemotions

The afternoon sun cast long shadows across the park. Emily sat on a bench, watching children play. She clutched a crumpled drawing in her hand – a drawing she and Chloe had made together, decades ago. She'd run into Chloe at a reunion.

She had approached, a nervous energy buzzing within her, and had tentatively greeted her friend. Chloe’s smile, though pleasant, was a complete stranger’s smile. She hadn’t recognized Emily, not even a little.

Emily felt a deep, pervasive sense of being adrift, of being lost in a sea of unknown faces. The laughter of the children echoed in the empty space within her. She crumpled the drawing tighter, her knuckles white.