Gemotions

The aroma of freshly baked bread from the bakery next door never smelled so repulsive to Sarah. She loathed her neighbor, David, a seemingly unremarkable accountant. But when she saw the security guard delivering a package that looked like a large, flat screen tv, she couldn't help but feel a sudden tightness in her chest.

She watched him from her window. He was watering his garden, whistling a cheerful tune. The injustice of it! Her own life was a constant struggle, paycheck to paycheck. The bitterness began to bubble, a corrosive acid in her gut. She’d always been a polite neighbor. Now, she loathed every saccharine conversation they had in the alleyway.

That night, she found herself staring at the blueprints she had somehow acquired of his house. The layout of the security system had never seemed so interesting.