Gemotions

The demolition crew's trucks rumbled, their metallic bodies glinting in the morning sun. Amelia watched from across the street, her breath catching in her throat with each approaching vibration. She clutched the faded photograph in her hand – a picture of her younger self, grinning, perched on the porch swing of the very house about to be reduced to rubble.

Her stomach churned. The air felt heavy, pressing down on her shoulders. All those years, all those memories, were about to be erased. She’d spent countless hours in that house, reading under the oak tree, laughing with friends on the lawn, hiding from her older brother in the dusty attic.

A tear traced a path down her cheek. She didn't bother to wipe it away. The world seemed to blur around the edges.