Gemotions

"Everything alright, sweetheart?" asked Mrs. Gable, the next-door neighbor, peering over the fence. Sarah jumped. She had been staring blankly at the roses, her hands frozen mid-prune. Her response was a strained, "Yes, fine!"

The roses, she decided, were too close to the house, too much like a screen. She grabbed a shovel and began furiously digging, uprooting the bushes. The earth clung to the shovel, and her arms ached. She kept looking over her shoulder.

A hawk circled overhead. Sarah flinched, sure it was watching her. She imagined the bird circling, noting everything about her, the house, and the garden. "Please, just go," she muttered under her breath, watching the bird's slow circles.