Gemotions

The news arrived in a text message. A simple, succinct message: "I'm joining the Church of Scientology." Her son, Ethan, had never been one for religion. His words seemed to hang in the air, bouncing around her head.

She stood in her kitchen, frozen, the email open on her laptop. She had been about to make coffee, but her hand now hung limply at her side. Her stomach twisted, and she felt a sudden wave of dizziness.

Her eyes darted around the room, as if searching for an escape, for some anchor in the churning reality. She looked at the photos of Ethan on the refrigerator, taken during happier, simpler times, the past seemed like another life.

She wanted to call him, to beg him to reconsider, but what words could she say? What could she do? The floor beneath her feet felt unstable, and she feared the ground would open up and swallow her whole.

She sat heavily at the kitchen table, her body feeling leaden, and felt a profound sense of loss.