Gemotions

Clara felt a dull ache behind her eyes, the familiar precursor to a migraine. The DNA results, neatly printed on the page, revealed a different history than she had always known. The familiar lines of her face, the way she moved, suddenly felt foreign, disconnected.

She closed her eyes, trying to focus on her breathing, but the thoughts raced in her mind. Where did she truly belong? Who were her real ancestors? The weight of it pressed down on her, stealing her appetite, making her feel as though she was being swallowed whole.

She picked up the phone to call her mother, then hesitated. What would she say? How could she even begin to ask the questions that now burned in her mind? She slammed the phone back down, her fingers trembling. The silence in her apartment was deafening, a thick, suffocating blanket.