Gemotions

The listing described the house as “move-in ready,” a phrase that set her teeth on edge. Emily stared at the screen, a tremor running through her hands. The hardwood floors, gleaming in the photos, were the same floors she’d spent hours polishing with her mother.

She sat straighter in her chair, a sense of mounting frustration prickling at her skin. The new owners would never know the stories held within those walls. They would never appreciate the history, the love, the memories that soaked into the very fabric of the house.

She imagined them, the strangers, moving in, their lives, their furniture, taking over. She suddenly felt an urge to protect the house, to warn it. An itch started on her back.