Gemotions

"Mom, can you just… can you turn it off?" Maya’s voice cracked, her hand gripping the edge of the kitchen table. The glow of her mother’s laptop cast an unnatural light on her tear-streaked face. Her mother, oblivious to the havoc being wreaked on her daughter's inner life, kept trying to get her to talk about it. “It’s just… it’s all so embarrassing.”

Her diary was a treasure trove of youthful indiscretions, and now the internet had swallowed it whole, turning her vulnerabilities into clickbait. Her chest felt constricted, as if a vise was slowly tightening. She wanted to scream, to lash out, but the words caught in her throat.

She pushed away from the table, her legs unsteady. She needed air, needed to be somewhere safe, somewhere where the digital vultures couldn’t reach her. The air outside was cold, but it felt cleaner, less suffocating.