Gemotions

The clatter of construction outside woke Maria. She peered out from her bedroom window. Workers were swarming all over the once-modest house of Mr. Abernathy, her neighbor. She'd known him as a kindly old man, a bit of a recluse who spent most of his days in his garden.

The scale of the project was stunning. They had demolished the old structure, rebuilding something much larger, more modern. The equipment was state-of-the-art. She’d always assumed Mr. Abernathy was living on a pension.

She started to feel a flush rise on her face. She thought about his antique coin collection that he had once proudly shown her. The whispers of his travels, now, seemed different. The situation was… unsettling.