Gemotions

He was staring at the tree when the neighbor approached. The apple tree. He had planted it with her, a lifetime ago. A promise of future sweetness. Now, the neighbor wanted to remove it.

His breath hitched in his throat. He felt a crushing weight settle upon his shoulders. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to contain the sudden flood of memories, the way she would reach for the ripening fruit each fall.

He stood there, frozen, the neighbor’s voice fading into the background. The pain was an ocean, threatening to swallow him whole. He felt utterly, completely empty, a shell of the man he once was.