Gemotions

The weight of the silence pressed down on him. The branches of the fallen willow tree lay across the edge of his property, a tangled mess. His neighbor, a woman named Emily, stood on her lawn, her face a mask of worry. She began to speak, her words tumbling over themselves in a rush of concern. He didn’t interrupt. He didn’t offer any words of comfort, even though he knew how much that tree had meant to her. He walked slowly back into his house, leaving her to clean up the mess. He went to his desk and began writing.