Gemotions

“My deck,” the neighbor said, his voice clipped and business-like. “The roots of that birch are causing problems.” The words hung in the air, heavy and unwelcome. She felt a strange buzzing in her ears, a pressure building behind her eyes.

The memories, sharp and painful, flooded her mind. The laughter, the shared secrets, the promises whispered beneath the dappled shade of the birch. The tree was a monument to a life lost, a constant reminder of what she no longer had.

She wrapped her arms around herself, as if trying to physically contain the pieces of her fractured world. The thought of losing the tree, losing one more thing… it was too much.