Gemotions

He’d been scrolling through real estate, a pastime he barely understood, when it popped up. "Quaint Colonial, Move-In Ready." The picture of the house on Elm Street sparked a disquiet he couldn't name. It was *his* house.

Daniel leaned closer to the screen. The front porch, once chipped and painted by his dad, now looked perfect, the swing replaced by a modern bench. He replayed his childhood in his mind: his mother's laughter from the open windows, his brother’s bike riding on the driveway.

His breath hitched. He closed the laptop. The sudden darkness amplified the feeling. Why had he felt that? It was a house. It was just a house. He opened the laptop again, staring at the perfectly manicured lawn. The sensation persisted, a feeling that things were somehow out of kilter.