Gemotions

The air was heavy with the smell of dust and the metallic tang of machinery. The house, her house, looked smaller now, exposed. Claire stared at it, the sun casting long shadows. It seemed to have shrunk, diminished. Her hands trembled as she pulled a crumpled tissue from her pocket, and dabbed at her eyes.

She had spent countless hours in that house as a child. She had been happiest there. Her smile felt distant, as though it was something she could no longer feel.

A worker called out a warning, and she started, jumping back from the flimsy barrier. She felt an overwhelming impulse to run, to flee, to somehow escape the inevitable. She took one last, long look, then turned and walked away, her footsteps echoing in the sudden quiet.