Gemotions

The phone vibrated in her hand. Sarah stared at the message: a photo. Her pulse quickened. She’d received a message containing a picture of a tattoo, and it was her work. Sarah was usually composed, but right now a current of unease rippled through her.

The image was a near-perfect copy of her popular painting 'Starlight'. The details were almost identical. She didn't know the person who had the tattoo or where they had been tattooed. She felt as though someone had stolen something that was hers. Her apartment, once a haven of creativity, now felt like a cage.

She went to grab a pen and sketchpad. She could create something new, something that couldn't be copied. But the colors, the ink, the brushes - they all felt contaminated. She threw the pen down, the sound echoing in the stillness.