Gemotions

The denial landed with the force of a tidal wave. She felt a sudden, overwhelming urge to scream, to lash out. The carefully curated stack of books on her desk, once a symbol of her ambition, now seemed like a cruel joke.

She threw herself back in her chair, the sudden movement causing her head to swim. The cheerful posters on her wall – images of the university she’d dreamed of attending – now seemed to taunt her with their vibrant optimism.

She took a series of deep, ragged breaths, trying to regain some semblance of control. But the feeling of being utterly lost, of everything she’d worked for crumbling around her, remained.