Gemotions

The request, polite and carefully phrased, felt like a punch to the gut. It knocked the wind right out of her. The words, "remove the willow," echoed in her mind. Her gaze darted from the neighbor's face to the slender, weeping willow, its graceful branches a source of constant beauty.

Her hands instinctively clenched into fists. She felt a strange tingling sensation, beginning in her fingertips and spreading rapidly up her arms. The blood in her veins seemed to have turned cold. A wave of nausea threatened to overwhelm her.

"I... I don't understand," she managed, her voice a strained croak. She blinked rapidly, trying to clear the sudden blurriness in her vision. The sun seemed blindingly bright.