Gemotions

The house was for sale. It was such a small thing, a house. But for Ben, it was everything. The image on the screen, the glossy photos of his old bedroom, the living room where he'd spent so many evenings... it felt wrong. A knot formed in his stomach.

He reread the description, the realtor's breathless prose. "Ideal for a growing family!" The words struck a nerve. He wanted to reach through the screen and tear down the photographs, to erase the very existence of it. He was being invaded.

He turned off the computer, the sudden darkness offering no solace. He felt a deep, almost physical need to scream. He walked into his kitchen, took a handful of salt from the container, and threw it over his shoulder, just as his grandmother used to do, to ward off the evil.