Gemotions

The train ride home was a silent ordeal. Sarah leaned against the grimy window, watching the city lights blur into streaks of color. The scent of exhaust fumes, normally just a background hum, felt overwhelming, a suffocating blanket. The new intern, a girl with bright pink highlights and boundless energy, had chattered incessantly all day, a constant assault on Sarah's depleted reserves.

"So, what's your favorite part of the job?" the intern had chirped. Sarah had offered a tight-lipped smile and a shrug, the answer – 'getting to go home' – remaining unspoken.

Now, slumped in her seat, every muscle in her body seemed to ache. The thought of cooking dinner, of even walking through her front door, was a monumental task.