Gemotions

Rain lashed against the windows of the old Ford, blurring the view of the house. From the back seat, Maya stared ahead, hands clasped tightly in her lap. The lawyer had said it was all finalized, that there was no way to change the inevitable. They were selling the land, not the home. It made business sense.

She thought of her sister, Sarah, and the way she had cried, begged, tried to get them to call it off. Maya wasn't like Sarah. She wasn't one for emotional outbursts. But as the windshield wipers slapped back and forth, the rhythmic motion mirroring the tremor in her chest, Maya found herself wanting to argue too.

“You okay, honey?” Her mother’s voice, a gentle question, broke through her thoughts. Maya turned, offering a tight smile. "Fine." She repeated the word, trying to convince herself more than her mother. It didn’t feel like fine. It felt like watching a slow-motion car crash, powerless to stop it.