Gemotions

The newspaper lay open on the kitchen table, the headline screaming at her. "Beloved Diner, The Cozy Corner, Shuts Doors After Decades." Emily slammed her cereal bowl down, the sudden noise a sharp crack in the morning quiet.

Her appetite vanished. The thought of facing the day, the week, the future, without Mrs. Peterson's perfect pancakes and bottomless coffee seemed… wrong. She felt a peculiar lightness in her chest, as if a small, vital organ had been removed.

She pushed herself away from the table, a sudden need to move, to do *something*. She wandered into the living room, picking up a framed photograph of her family, all smiling at the diner from years ago, and she buried her face in her hands.