Gemotions

The rejection letter felt like a lead weight in Maya's hand. The glossy paper, usually so promising, now mocked her with its polite phrasing. "We regret to inform you..." The words swam before her eyes. She crumpled the letter, the sound a brittle echo in her otherwise silent bedroom. Her reflection in the darkened window stared back, a stranger with slumped shoulders and a vacant gaze. She kicked a stray soccer ball across the room, the plastic thud a hollow accusation.

The coach’s voice, which had once filled her with anticipation, now echoed in her memory, its warmth replaced by a dismissive tone. She hadn’t slept properly in days, the pressure a vise around her chest. Food had lost all appeal. She pushed her untouched dinner around the plate, the pasta a pale, unappetizing landscape.