Gemotions

He scrolled through the pictures, each one a fresh stab of pain. The new landscaping felt foreign, the pristine grass a cruel mockery of the familiar, overgrown wildness he remembered. He felt a sudden, desperate urge to escape the confines of his apartment.

He pulled his phone from his pocket, his thumb hovering over the dialer. He wanted to call his mother, to ask her about the house, to hear her voice. But the thought of the conversation, of the inevitable emotions, made his throat tighten.

He let the phone fall back into his lap, the weight of the moment pressing down on him. The listing had reawakened something buried deep within, a reservoir of sadness he wasn't sure he could contain.