Gemotions

"Unbelievable." Clara muttered, shaking her head. The towering pine she and her sister had planted, their shared secret, had been felled. She felt a burning sensation in her eyes, a prelude to the tears she was determined to hold back.

She kicked at a loose stone, sending it flying across the empty space. Every muscle in her body was tense. She felt a sudden urge to run, to escape this scene of devastation. All those years, all those memories, and now? Nothing.

She closed her eyes, trying to recapture the scent of pine needles, the feel of the sun dappling through the branches. But it was no use. The tree, their tree, was gone. And the ache of loss was a bitter pill to swallow.