Gemotions

"Excuse me," she said, her voice small and trembling, to the man trimming the neighbor's hedge. He stopped his work, looking at her expectantly. She gestured towards the vacant space. "The cherry tree...where...?"

She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence. The humiliation, the disbelief, threatened to overwhelm her. The vibrant cherry, planted during a family picnic, a symbol of happy memories, was gone.

She swallowed hard, trying to regain some semblance of composure. She felt the tears welling up, threatening to spill over. Her cheeks burned. She wanted to disappear, to melt into the ground and be swallowed up by the earth.