Gemotions

The silence pressed down on David, a physical weight. The shadows in the dining room seemed to lengthen, transforming familiar objects into menacing shapes. He kept checking his phone, hoping for a distraction, a message, anything to break the tension.

His sister, Jessica, was cheerfully energetic as she wandered about the house. He wished he had her energy. But he couldn't shake the creeping unease, the feeling of being watched.

He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as he looked out the window. The trees in the yard swayed in the wind, their branches scratching against the glass, like skeletal fingers.