Gemotions

The fluorescent lights of the hospital waiting room hummed, a relentless drone against the silence. Sarah slumped further into her chair, the cheap plastic digging into her back. Her brother, David, had just told their parents he was becoming a Jehovah's Witness. Their mother had started crying immediately; their father had simply turned away.

Sarah ran a hand through her unwashed hair, a habitual gesture of frustration. Everything felt tangled, knotted. Her own life, recently marred by a failed relationship and a string of dead-end jobs, seemed a wasteland in comparison to David's newfound certainty. He had this unwavering belief, this sense of purpose, while she felt like a fragmented collection of regrets.

She watched her father pace, his shoulders stooped. She knew that feeling, the heavy feeling of disappointment she saw reflected in his posture. David's announcement, to her, seemed like just another addition to a growing list of failures, hers and those of the family.