Gemotions

The weight of the silence in the living room was almost unbearable. Uncle George, with his booming laugh and staunch atheism, had declared he was embracing Judaism. Sarah, his niece, felt a strange pressure building behind her eyes. She leaned forward, as if to catch every word, but her mind was spinning.

She bit the inside of her cheek, a nervous habit, and avoided eye contact. Her gaze drifted over the room, from her grandmother's embroidered cushions to the framed family photos. Everything felt alien, somehow. How could this be true? The world tilted on its axis.