Gemotions

The email arrived, simple text on a stark white screen. “Hi, Sarah. Thinking of a small garden project. Would you mind if I used a bit of your side yard? Let me know. -Mark.” Sarah felt a sudden hollowness, her breath catching in her throat. Her hands were clammy.

She stared at the words, her eyes scanning over and over. She knew Mark barely; he lived two houses down. This felt… intrusive. She clicked off the screen, then back on, then back off again.

She sat at her desk, unable to focus on anything. The hum of the computer seemed loud in the sudden quiet of the room. She felt a need to move, to be somewhere else. After half an hour of pacing, she finally wrote back a curt, “I need to consider.”