Gemotions

The first night in her childhood bedroom, Sarah couldn't sleep. The silence was deafening, punctuated only by the rhythmic creaks of the old house. The duvet felt heavy, pinning her to the bed, a physical manifestation of her current predicament.

She stared at the ceiling, the glow-in-the-dark stars she’d painstakingly applied as a child now mocking her adult failures. Her chest felt constricted, making it difficult to breathe. Each breath came out in a shallow, ragged gasp.

A cold dread coiled in her stomach, a knot of unease. She was back where she started, and she didn't know how to move forward. The weight of it all was crushing.