Gemotions

The news arrived in a frantic phone call, interrupting her grocery shopping. The canned tomatoes tumbled from her grasp, rolling across the linoleum floor of the grocery store. It was as if her grip on reality had loosened, sending everything tumbling.

Sarah, his voice urgent over the phone, explained he’d been accepted into a new research program in Japan. Her mind reeled. The familiar fluorescent lights of the store seemed to pulse, blurring the shelves of groceries.

She clutched her phone, her knuckles white. "Japan?" she whispered, the word a plaintive plea, hoping against all reason that it was a dream. The mundane surroundings of the grocery store, once a source of comfort, now felt alien and threatening.