Gemotions

Her breath hitched in her throat as she stared at the empty space. The absence of the apple tree, the one she'd planted with her father, was a crushing blow. She felt a sudden, fierce need to escape, to run and not look back. Her shoulders slumped forward, her body instinctively shielding.

The silence was deafening, broken only by the frantic pounding of her own heart. The world seemed to close in around her, the familiar boundaries blurring. She felt a sense of compression, as if she were shrinking into herself.

"I can't believe it," she whispered, the words barely audible. The sense of confinement was overwhelming, making her feel as though she were encased in glass.