Gemotions

He bounced the basketball on the cracked pavement, each dribble a frustrated punctuation mark in the silence. The rhythmic thump, thump, thump echoed in the stillness of the afternoon. He’d told his brother a hundred times to check the property, but the email had gone unanswered for a week.

He knew something was off when he hadn’t heard back from his brother, and the feeling grew sharper with each step towards the old oak. His jaw clenched as he turned the corner.

The space where the tree once stood was vacant. A smooth, flat disk remained, a testament to the efficient blade of a chainsaw. He kicked at a stray piece of bark, the anger now a hot, visceral thing.