Gemotions

The gate creaked open, the sound echoing through the silent garden. She stepped inside, the familiar layout immediately calming. Until her eyes landed on the spot where the cherry tree had been. Gone. Just a bare expanse of soil.

She took a shaky breath, her hand flying to her throat. It was the tree that had marked the passage of seasons, its blossoms a riot of pink each spring. She remembered the picnics, the laughter, the way the petals would drift down like delicate snow.

A sharp pang of sadness hit her. It felt as though a cherished friend had vanished. The garden, once a source of comfort, now felt strange, incomplete, a landscape missing a vital element. Her chest tightened.