Gemotions

It was the lack of conversation that stung. He'd tried, once, to offer a friendly greeting. The response was a clipped nod, followed by a return to the work. It was as if his neighbor were deliberately shutting him out. He felt a deep sense of isolation, of being deliberately excluded.

His once vibrant garden seemed to lose its color, the flowers wilting under the shadow of the new wooden wall. He started to pull weeds with fierce intensity, attacking the earth with a vicious energy, a physical outlet for his rising frustration. His back ached, his hands were blistered, but he couldn't stop.