Gemotions

"Move-in ready," the ad declared, as if that was all that mattered. She found herself unable to breathe, her chest feeling tight and constricted. The photos showed a house devoid of life, a shell of what once was.

She remembered the chipped paint on the window frames, the loose floorboards that creaked under her feet, the warmth of the wood-burning stove on winter nights. None of that was reflected in the gleaming images.

A tremor ran through her, a wave of unseen emotion washing over her. She knew she should close the listing, turn away, but she couldn't. She continued to look, feeling the pull, the weight, the utter sense of loss.