Gemotions

The afternoon sun cast long shadows across the living room, illuminating dust motes dancing in the air. She’d spent the morning cleaning, scrubbing, trying to erase the ghost of the past. Her efforts felt futile. The knowledge of what had happened here clung to the air like a noxious odor. She refused the dinner invitation from her new neighbor. She couldn’t bring herself to smile, to pretend everything was normal. Her hand tightened on the doorknob. The weight of the secret, the hidden horror, was crushing her.