Gemotions

The news report played again in Maya’s mind, the grainy footage of the crime scene replaying on a loop. The image of the house, now her house, filled her with a profound sense of unease. She needed to be active, she couldn’t just sit.

She started cleaning, scrubbing with a fervor that bordered on mania. She dusted, she polished, she attacked the house as if trying to erase the stain of the past. She moved furniture, rearranged the layout, seeking some sort of control over the unsettling reality. She found a broom and swept the floors repeatedly, as if trying to push the memory of what happened here out the front door.

Her phone rang, a loud, jarring sound. She jumped, her heart hammering. It was just her friend, but the sound had been like a shock.