Gemotions

The old house, the one she grew up in, looked so different. Everything seemed smaller, less grand. Everything, except the absence of the old maple tree. It was the only place that retained the form she had remembered it.

She’d spent hours sitting beneath its shade, reading, dreaming. Now, there was just an empty space, a void in the landscape. She touched the smooth surface of the stump. It had been her haven, her safe place.

She felt a hollowness in her chest, a physical ache. She didn't say anything, she couldn't. It was too much to bear. She turned away quickly, her shoulders slumped, her pace hurried.