Gemotions

"I just... I don't know," Sarah mumbled, picking at a loose thread on her jeans. The swimming team had announced its selections, and she wasn't on the list. The weeks of grueling training, the chlorine smell that had become her second skin, the early morning practices – all seemingly for nothing.

The pool, once a place of refuge and exhilaration, now held a bitter association. She avoided looking at it, the shimmering water a taunt. She felt a profound disconnect from the world, as if she were adrift in a vast, empty ocean. The vibrant energy of the other swimmers now seemed impossible for her to access.