Gemotions

Her breath hitched. The familiar crest of the hill, the bend in the road where she always saw the birch… It was gone. A void. A raw, exposed wound in the landscape. Her vision blurred, and the world seemed to tilt.

She gripped the steering wheel, knuckles white. Her palms felt clammy. She pulled over, the car jerking to a stop on the verge. She had to see. She had to know. She opened the door, her movements jerky, unnatural.

The empty space beckoned. Her heart hammered in her chest, a frantic drumbeat. She stumbled out of the car. She reached the space, and her face crumpled. Her eyes filled with tears, streaming down her cheeks.