Gemotions

The announcement on the lobby bulletin board felt like a physical blow. Sarah's breath hitched as she read the words. Her vision blurred, and she gripped the banister, her knuckles a stark white. The polished marble floor suddenly seemed cold, alien.

She walked back to her apartment slowly, each footfall echoing in the hallway. The scent of stale air and decades of cooking clung to the walls, suddenly precious, fragile. She ran her hand over the worn paint on her door, the imperfections she had once taken for granted now filled her with a profound sense of loss.

She felt a desperate need to cleanse. She spent the entire afternoon scrubbing her apartment, polishing every surface, as if trying to erase the unwelcome news.