Gemotions

Rain lashed against the car windows as Liam pulled into the old family property. He hadn't been back in years, not since… well, not since everything. He’d come to scatter his grandmother’s ashes, a promise he’d delayed. And now… this.

He saw it instantly, a sickening hollow where a towering pine had once stood. It was a gash in the landscape, a visual betrayal. He slammed the car door with unnecessary force. The cold seeped into his bones as he walked towards the spot.

He stopped, arms hanging limp at his sides. The raw, jagged edges of the stump seemed to mock him, the wood still damp and smelling of fresh sap. He remembered the tree as a child, scaling its trunk, feeling the rough bark against his skin. Now, it was just… gone. He turned his back on the destruction, the rain plastering his hair to his forehead, and walked directly towards the small, dilapidated shed.