Gemotions

"No, no, no," Martha hissed, her voice a low growl. The online listing for her old home, the one she grew up in, stared back at her. New paint. Landscaped garden. It wasn't *her* house anymore.

Her hands shook as she scrolled through the images. The sunroom, where she used to spend hours reading, had been turned into a home office. The swing set, where she learned to fly through the air, was gone. Everything was changed. A knot twisted tightly inside her.

She felt a sudden urge to break something, to shatter the illusion of normalcy presented by the listing. She slammed the laptop shut with a loud clap, the sound echoing in the empty apartment. She paced back and forth, fists clenched.