Gemotions

The afternoon sun cast long shadows as Michael watched the fence being built. He’d listened to his wife’s complaints about the neighbor's barking dog and decided to stay silent when the topic of a fence came up. Now, the quiet felt wrong, a hollow echo in his chest.

He kept replaying the scene in his mind, the neighbor's downcast eyes when he'd mentioned that the dog was a "nuisance". He felt a knot tighten in his neck and his stomach churned. He told himself he had done the right thing, but the certainty wouldn't stick.

He volunteered to walk the neighbor's dog. When he got the opportunity, he left the gate open.