Gemotions

The neon sign above "Luigi's Pizzeria" was dark. Not dim, but off. She circled the block three times, hoping she was mistaken. Surely, it was a mistake. Luigi's was an institution. It couldn't just… disappear.

She got out of her car, her legs shaky. The door was locked. The windows were boarded up. She felt a strange buzzing in her ears. Where was the smell of baking bread? Where were the boisterous laughter and the clatter of plates?

She sat on the curb, head in her hands, the familiar sounds of the city fading into a distant, hollow echo. It was all wrong. Everything. What now? Where would she go? Her senses felt confused, and the world seemed to have tilted on its axis.