Gemotions

The notice, a glossy flyer slipped under the door, landed on the welcome mat like a personal insult. Sarah snatched it up, the paper crinkling under her furious grip. “Condo Conversion: Exciting Opportunities Await!” the headline blared. Exciting for *who*, exactly? Certainly not her, facing down another rent hike. Her jaw clenched.

She slammed the flyer onto the kitchen counter, the cheap laminate rattling under the force. The apartment, her haven for the last five years, suddenly felt cramped, suffocating. She imagined some developer, some smiling shark, circling like a vulture.

The cheap instant coffee tasted like ash in her mouth. She poured it down the drain, the sound grating on her ears. Every creak of the aging pipes, every distant shout from the street, felt like an intentional provocation. Today, she just felt the urge to kick something.