Gemotions

He’d been aimlessly scrolling through real estate listings, a habit born of boredom. Then, the picture: a two-story colonial, the exact one. The house on Maplewood Lane. His stomach clenched. An unfamiliar ache spread through him, a feeling like a dull, persistent bruise.

He leaned back in his chair, the weight of the past suddenly heavy. He remembered the creak of the floorboards under his mother's feet as she made her morning coffee. He could almost smell the cinnamon rolls baking in the oven. The listing described a "completely renovated kitchen." He wondered if they'd kept the old dumbwaiter.

He closed the browser, then, with a sigh, reopened it. He clicked on the "Virtual Tour" button, the sound of his mouse click echoing the sudden hollowness inside him.