Gemotions

The scent of lavender, potent and strange, filled the small apartment. She’d been cleaning, she thought. Or perhaps… reorganizing? She couldn’t be sure. The clock on the wall showed a time she didn't recognize. Her gaze fell upon a brightly colored notepad. Her father’s neat script announced, “Things to Do Before…” The words faded away.

Her heart thumped against her ribs, a frantic rhythm against the quiet. The room seemed to shrink, the walls closing in. She felt a prickling sensation on her skin, as if she were about to burst. She had to get out, had to… what? She didn’t know. The task, the reason, felt like smoke. The city outside roared, but the sound felt distant, muffled.