Gemotions

The sketches were innocuous enough, at first. A fluffy dog, a smiling sun, stick figures holding hands. Then came the one: a girl with mismatched eyes and a too-wide smile. The girl looked vaguely familiar, not like a real person, but like an echo from somewhere deep inside of her.

"Who’s this, Emily?" she asked, her voice tight. Emily, her niece, shrugged, "Just a friend. She comes to play." She spent the rest of the day flitting from room to room, checking the windows, the locks, jumping at shadows.

Sleep offered no respite. She jolted awake repeatedly, heart pounding, convinced someone was standing at the foot of her bed. The next morning, she couldn't bring herself to go to Emily's house. She made some excuse, feeling like she was being hunted.