Gemotions

The feeling was a persistent hum of anxiety. The drawings were everywhere – on the refrigerator, on the walls, on the kitchen table. Her nephew, little Leo, was obsessed with this creature, "The Crawler." The artwork depicted a grotesque, insectile being, a mirror image of the friend she had buried years ago. A shiver ran down her spine every time she saw it, a visceral response to a memory she’d spent years trying to suppress. She felt as though the past was reaching out, its grasp tightening.

Sleep eluded her. She lay awake, listening to the creaks of the house, her heart pounding in her chest. She found herself checking under the bed and in the closet before she went to sleep.

Her husband asked what was wrong. She just stared at him.