Gemotions

“Mom, look!” Leo pointed, his voice filled with a childish excitement that grated on his sister’s nerves. He was pointing at the screen, at the familiar facade of their childhood home.

Sarah felt a sudden constriction in her chest, a painful knot that refused to loosen. The house looked different, somehow; renovated and polished, stripped of all its imperfections.

She felt a wave of nausea, a sensation of displacement, as if she no longer knew who she was. The kitchen she had grown up in, now a cold and impersonal space, felt like a betrayal.

“Isn’t it cool?” Leo repeated, oblivious to her internal turmoil. She swallowed hard, forcing a smile. “Yeah, it’s… interesting.” The words tasted like ash.