Gemotions

The letter, discovered in the family archives, was a record of dissent. It was a refusal. The handwriting, bold and confident, was completely unlike anything she knew of her father. He had never spoken of this. She felt a burning sensation in her chest, a tightening of her throat.

She locked the front door, then the back door, and all the windows. She pulled the curtains. She switched off her cell phone and the landline. Every movement felt furtive, every breath shallow. She kept re-reading the letter, searching for answers, but only finding more questions.

She felt the air around her grow thick and suffocating. The house seemed to hum with unseen energy. She wasn't alone. She knew it. They were waiting.