Gemotions

"Just get it over with," she muttered under her breath, pulling into the driveway. Claire hadn’t wanted to come, not really. But her sister had insisted. "You need to see it," she'd said. "It's… important."

The house was alien, repainted a garish shade of yellow. Claire swallowed, forcing herself to walk towards the back. She scanned the yard, searching. Then she saw it. Or rather, the lack of it.

Her heart hammered a frantic rhythm against her ribs. The empty space where the cherry tree had stood felt like a punch to the gut. That tree, planted with her grandmother. All that work, all that hope, wiped away. She felt a burning sensation behind her eyes, a prelude to a storm she desperately fought to contain.