Gemotions

"Impossible," Maya breathed, her voice a thin thread of disbelief. She’d been mid-sentence, lecturing a group of undergrads, when the professor called for a ten-minute break. She'd opened her emails and found the declaration, and now the information was like a punch to the gut. The world around her seemed to warp, the familiar classroom receding into a distant, hazy realm.

Her hands clenched, and she felt a sudden urge to flee. The room felt oppressively small, the air thick with unspoken anxieties. She quickly ended the break. Her heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic rhythm against the quiet murmuring of the students, and she felt a strong, sudden impulse to simply run away.