Gemotions

He’d driven for hours, escaping the city’s relentless hum. Now, here he was. Liam’s shoulders slumped as he stepped from the car. The world was a blurry watercolor.

The maple tree, his father’s gift to him on his tenth birthday, was simply *not there*. A gaping void. He felt a sudden, desperate urge to sit down, right there on the grass.

His breath hitched. He closed his eyes, squeezing them shut, the phantom ache in his chest tightening with a new kind of pain. He couldn't quite see straight. He was shaking, and the trembling kept growing. He had to sit.