Gemotions

The news felt like a physical blow. The envelope, the official letter, lay unopened on her kitchen table. Her hands shook as she poured a cup of coffee. The coffee tasted of ash. She couldn't touch the food she'd prepared.

The scholarship, the life raft that had pulled her away from a desperate situation, was being pulled away. She'd been a fool to believe in it, to trust it. Her breath hitched in her throat, a choked sob.

She walked from room to room, touching the objects that represented her new life: the textbooks, the desk, the bed. She felt the weight of impending loss pressing down on her. The world spun.