Gemotions

The glow of the tablet cast a sickly light on Maria’s face. She scrolled through the private Instagram, the curated feed of her daughter, Chloe. It was a kaleidoscope of filtered selfies, vague quotes about heartbreak, and a life that felt a million miles away from the one Maria thought she knew. Her fingers trembled as she clicked through the stories.

A knot formed in her stomach. Chloe, so often cheerful and easygoing, seemed…lost. There was a vulnerability in these digital breadcrumbs, a loneliness that tugged at Maria's heart. She pictured Chloe, alone in her room, crafting this online persona, and a sudden, sharp ache pierced her.

Maria closed the tablet, the image of Chloe’s carefully constructed world burned into her memory. She walked down the hallway to her daughter's room, her steps slow, heavy with a weight she couldn’t quite name. She gently knocked on the door, her voice soft. "Hey, can I come in?"