Gemotions

A chill snaked up Maya’s spine as the notification flashed. Mark Thompson. The name swam in the digital space, a ghost from a past she’d worked hard to bury. Her hand, poised over the mouse, trembled slightly. Years ago, he'd tormented her with cruel taunts, turning her school days into a gauntlet of dread. Now, staring at his smiling profile, she felt a tightness in her chest, a feeling like someone was squeezing her lungs.

She swallowed hard, her mouth suddenly dry. He'd never liked her. The playground memories, the stolen lunches, the whispered insults echoing in the school hallway – they all resurfaced, vivid and sharp. She glanced around her sparsely furnished apartment, its emptiness mirroring the hollowness that threatened to consume her.

With a deep breath, Maya closed the laptop. The notification remained, a constant reminder of the past. The knot in her stomach tightened with each passing second, and she found herself reaching for the bottle of wine.