Gemotions

The first thing Anya noticed was the silence. No gentle hum of the engine, no reassuring thrum of life. She blinked, her heart beginning to pound a staccato rhythm against her ribs. She was met with an unyielding expanse of pavement.

She felt a wave of nausea wash over her. It was a physical thing, a churning in her stomach. Her breath hitched. She fought the urge to run back inside, to pretend she hadn't seen the empty space. But the reality pressed down on her, heavy and inescapable.

She crossed her arms, rubbing them to create friction. The air suddenly felt frigid. She wanted to yell, to break something, to somehow dispel the tightness in her chest. She stood there, frozen, adrift in a sea of concrete, the morning sun offering no comfort.