Gemotions

He’d been inside, engrossed in a novel, when the house shook. A deep, guttural thud, followed by a series of cracking noises. He dropped the book, the spine snapping with the sudden movement. His heart hammered in his chest, a frantic rhythm against his ribs. He pushed open the front door.

A chaos of limbs and green lay against Mrs. Henderson’s house. The towering pine next door had given way. Branches blocked the entire view of the street. He felt like he'd just woken up from a long, confusing dream.

He stumbled across his lawn, the grass prickling at his bare feet. He didn't know what to do, which direction to go, or what had happened. He looked up at the sky, expecting the sun to be in the wrong place, but it was just… there, mocking him with its ordinary existence.

"Oh my," he heard Mrs. Henderson whisper. Her voice seemed far away, coming from another universe. He felt a profound sense of isolation, adrift in a sea of bewilderment.