Gemotions

He stared at the computer, the listing a shimmering portal to the past. This couldn't be real. The old address stared back at him, the details of the listing flashing on screen. His breath hitched in his chest, making the air feel thin. He instinctively leaned forward, resting his forearms on the kitchen table.

The kitchen, the one where he’d learned to bake cookies with his grandmother, looked so… different. Glossy granite countertops replaced the chipped linoleum. A modern island stood where the old oak table once sat. He felt a pang of something akin to loss, but mixed with something else, something deeper and more profound.

He found himself slowly, almost reverently, zooming in on the picture of the backyard. The swing set was gone, of course, but the giant oak tree, the one he used to climb, was still there, a stalwart sentinel watching over the years. His heart gave a strange little lurch.