Gemotions

The midday sun beat down, and the smell of stale coffee and hot asphalt filled the air. David scanned the yard sale, desperate for something, anything, to distract him. And then he saw it, partially obscured by a stack of old magazines. The bear. He wanted to turn and run. His chest tightened.

He remembered the endless nights, the feeling of vulnerability, the darkness that clung to the edges of his world. He couldn’t look away. His legs felt like lead weights.

The woman running the sale was absorbed in a conversation on her cell phone, oblivious to his mounting unease. David slowly walked towards the bear, his hand reaching out tentatively, as if he expected it to bite. He just wanted to leave it behind.