Gemotions

He’d almost missed it. The small, nondescript yard sale tucked away on a quiet street. Now, he wished he *had* missed it. He stopped abruptly, his muscles seizing. There it was. The bear. He tried to tell himself that it was a common toy, that all bears looked the same, but the knot in his stomach said otherwise.

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. His vision narrowed. The world around him seemed to shrink. He felt a desperate urge to flee, to vanish. He'd spent years trying to forget.

The seller, a teenager with headphones around their neck, glanced at him dismissively. "Five bucks. Needs some love." He shook his head, unable to speak, and quickly turned around. He began walking away as fast as he could.