Gemotions

She walked through the gate, feeling a strange flutter in her chest. She saw the empty space and the breath caught in her throat. The rowan tree, her sacred tree, was gone.

She remembered the way its red berries had blazed in the autumn sun. She recalled the stories her grandmother used to tell about it. The stories were now memories, just like the tree itself.

She felt a chill, despite the warm day. It felt like a betrayal, a severance from the past. She blinked back a sudden rush of tears.