Gemotions

The unexpected proposition hit Eleanor like a physical blow. She felt a lightness in her head, as if she might float away. Her neighbor, a man named Bob, had always kept to himself, never one for conversation, and certainly not the type to initiate a yard-sharing arrangement.

He wanted to *farm* on her property.

She gripped the handle of her watering can so tightly her knuckles shone white. Her mouth opened, closed, then opened again, but no words emerged. A strange buzzing filled her ears, and the colors of the lawn seemed to blur around the edges. She felt her legs grow weak.

"I... I don't... I need to sit down," she finally managed, her voice a reedy tremor.