Gemotions

He had woken this morning with a lightness in his step, a feeling he couldn’t quite explain. A childish energy, a boundless well of contentment. He bounded down the street, anticipation bubbling within him, toward the tree he'd planted so many years ago. It was a pilgrimage, a return. But on arrival, his breath caught, not in sadness, but in a strange, excited way.

The tree was gone. He threw his head back and laughed, a bright, joyous sound that echoed through the empty space. He felt something akin to giddy freedom, a sense of boundless potential. The world was new, reborn.