Gemotions

The constant vibration, the relentless noise, it was making Alice irritable. She couldn't focus on her book. Every clang of a hammer sent a shiver down her spine. The house across the street was slowly being dismantled, brick by brick. Her neighbor, Ms. Davies, had always been so reserved, so quiet.

Alice had tried to wave, to smile, but Ms. Davies had just ducked back inside the house. Even the sight of her sent a jolt of anxiety through Alice. Why the avoidance? What had changed?

She closed her book with a snap, suddenly overwhelmed. She paced the kitchen, the silence of her own home amplifying the sounds from across the street.