Gemotions

She'd promised herself she wouldn't cry. But the moment she saw the house, the sobs clawed at her throat. Emily’s hand trembled as she rang the doorbell. She had asked to see the garden. She asked to remember.

The new owners, cheerful and oblivious, led her through the house, showing off their renovations. Finally, they reached the back. The space where the apple tree had once flourished was now a perfectly sculpted lawn.

The world seemed to shrink, the noise of the owners’ chatter fading into a dull hum. She felt a cold, hollow ache in her chest. She needed to leave, to escape the suffocating weight of this new reality. She ran.