Gemotions

The book arrived unbidden, slipped beneath the door like a venomous serpent. Emily picked it up, her fingers numb. The cover depicted a smiling image of her, one she didn't recognize. The spine read, “The Life of Emily Carter.” The pages offered an intimate portrait of her life, revealing details only she and a few close confidants knew. The air grew heavy, like a suffocating blanket.

She backed away, stumbling, the book falling from her grasp. It landed with a soft thud. The world seemed to shrink around her. She felt a pressure in her chest, a tightening, as if someone was slowly, deliberately, constricting her. She turned, desperate to escape, to find a place where she could breathe.