Gemotions

The phone rang, jolting Maria from her afternoon nap. It was Mrs. Rodriguez, her neighbor, the one who always planted the most vibrant sunflowers. Her voice on the phone was strained, the usual cheery lilt absent.

“Maria, could we talk about the ash tree? The one on the line…,” she started.

Maria sat bolt upright in bed, heart racing. The request was utterly unfathomable. What did she mean? She didn’t know how to respond. The world felt tilted, the familiar contours of her reality blurring.

She gripped the phone so hard her knuckles turned white. The suddenness of it, the unexpected request, felt completely out of sync with everything.