Gemotions

The world seemed to shrink. Maya gripped the steering wheel so hard her knuckles turned white. Her pulse hammered in her ears. Where the cherry tree had bloomed every spring, there was only a dusty, empty patch.

She pulled over, her hands shaking so badly she could barely open the car door. She needed to feel the ground beneath her feet. She needed to breathe. The air felt thick, heavy, as though the oxygen had been sucked out.

She walked towards the void, a strange, disjointed gait. She kept muttering, "No, no, no." It couldn't be real. But the raw wood of the stump told a different story.