Gemotions

The digital clock on Maya's dashboard flashed 3:17 AM. She gripped the steering wheel so hard her knuckles were white. Sleep was impossible. She’d woken up in a cold sweat, her mind replaying the scene over and over. Meeting Ben at the grocery store, after all those years, had felt like a moment out of a movie.

She’d almost walked past him, a wave of awkwardness washing over her. She’d stopped and then, a nervous energy had taken over. She’d spoken, and he'd looked at her as if she were a stranger. She was the one who was a stranger.

He’d politely said he didn’t know her. The words had hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. Now, the memory of his expression, the blank canvas of his face, filled her with a profound disquiet. She hadn’t slept. She kept replaying the conversation. She had to understand how this could have happened. How he could forget everything. She pressed her foot down on the gas, the engine roaring in response. She needed to drive.