Gemotions

He glared at the listing, his jaw working furiously. The price. The audacity! That place, his father’s workshop, his mother’s garden, all reduced to a sum of money on a website. It was like they were trying to erase everything, everything he held dear. He gripped his phone so tight it felt like the plastic would crack.

He had to get out of here. He threw on his coat, not bothering with a scarf, even though the wind outside was biting. Every step was heavy, each breath a struggle. He pictured the new owners, the strangers who would traipse through his childhood memories, oblivious to the ghosts that still lingered. He kicked a discarded soda can down the sidewalk, the metallic clang a small release.