Gemotions

"This place…it's suffocating," Elara muttered, pacing the kitchen. The linoleum was cold beneath her bare feet. The inherited house loomed, a physical manifestation of her family's past – all the joys and all the hurts. Her brother, Samuel, sat at the table, picking at a biscuit. He looked as impassive as ever. She wanted to scream.

She felt a nervous twitch in her eye, the one that always started when things felt too much. She’d been snapping at everyone for days. She needed space, air. The thought of sorting through her grandmother's belongings filled her with a sense of dread. The silence of the house pressed against her, a constant reminder of loss.

"Are you going to help, or just sit there?" she asked, her voice sharper than she intended.