Gemotions

"I don't understand," Emily whispered, her voice barely audible above the television's mindless drone. She had just finished reading an article, a dreadful article, that confirmed the rumour. Her idol, renowned author, Charles Beaumont, was a fraud.

Her fingers trembled as she reached for a tissue, wiping at the moisture that had gathered in her eyes. It wasn’t tears, not exactly. More like a pressure, a constriction in her chest that made it hard to breathe.

She switched off the TV, the sudden silence adding to the bleakness. She felt a profound sense of loss, as if a cherished friend had betrayed her. The world, once full of possibility, now seemed a little dimmer.