Gemotions

"So, yeah," Grandma said, her voice unusually subdued, "I'm going to become a Buddhist." The words hung in the air, heavy and strange. She was sitting there, calm as ever, sipping her tea, but the words… they were a puzzle.

I was at her kitchen table, a place where I'd always known where I was. Where the world made sense. Now, that felt threatened, and I sat there feeling unsteady.

The familiar aroma of her cinnamon rolls, freshly baked, did nothing to soothe the disquietude. Everything felt off, like a song playing a wrong note. Her serene expression somehow felt less like reassurance, and more like… a riddle.