Gemotions

The email sat in her inbox, a cold, clinical sentence: "We regret to inform you..." Her hands, clammy and trembling, fumbled with the mouse. The screen flickered, reflecting the dim light of her cramped bedroom. The rejection was a black hole, sucking away the air in the room. She slumped back in her chair, the cheap plastic creaking in protest. Days of tireless application, endless essays, all rendered moot. A sigh escaped her, a sound of profound emptiness.

The aroma of her mother’s cooking, usually comforting, was now sickening. She pushed the plate of food away, the uneaten meal a testament to her diminished appetite. The silence of the house pressed in on her, heavy and suffocating. She felt a profound weight, a leaden cloak, settling upon her shoulders. She wanted to disappear.