Gemotions

The chipped mug warmed Amelia’s hands as she stared out the grimy kitchen window. Rain smeared the glass, mirroring the blur in her vision. She’d stopped watering the wilting ferns weeks ago, mirroring the stagnation in her own life. The biography, “Amelia: A Life Unlived,” had landed on her doorstep this morning. Her neighbour, a chatty woman named Brenda, had cheerfully told her she was the talk of the town.

A wave of nausea churned in her stomach as she thought about being the subject of such public scrutiny. The details, she was sure, would be painfully accurate: the dead-end job, the string of failed relationships, the apartment filled with dust and half-finished projects. She gripped the mug harder, knuckles white. It was all laid bare. The truth.