Gemotions

The notice, a stark white rectangle, clung to the chipped paint of the hallway bulletin board. Sarah took a deep breath, the air in the stairwell thick with the scent of old dust and something faintly floral. She slowly peeled it off, the paper crinkling softly in her hand. “Important Information Regarding the Conversion of Your Apartment Building to Condominiums.” Her shoulders slumped.

She wandered back into her apartment, the sunlight slanting through the dusty windowpanes. It illuminated the motes dancing in the air, each one a tiny, fleeting thing. She barely noticed. She padded into the kitchen, the linoleum cold beneath her bare feet. She filled the kettle, watching the water rise, the bubbles beginning to form. There was a gentle hum as it heated, a sound that seemed to soothe the edges of her.

The tea, once brewed, sat forgotten on the counter. Sarah stared out the window, at the gray sky, at the rows of identical windows across the street. A thought, faint as a whisper, passed through her mind. What now? She didn't dwell on it.