Gemotions

The park felt different, tainted by the secret. They were supposed to meet. The message, cryptic and insistent, had forced her to come. Now, standing near the pond, a place she usually found peaceful, she felt exposed. Sunlight was too harsh on her skin.

She watched the ducks bobbing on the water, the familiar sight suddenly alien. She kept glancing at the bench, where she expected this newly discovered person to show up. She wished she had never seen the email. The air was thick, heavy, making it hard to breathe.