Gemotions

Rain lashed at the corrugated iron roof, mirroring the tempest inside Amelia. She kicked a dent into the overflowing bin, sending soggy tea bags and discarded food containers scattering across the alleyway. Damn landlord. Always raising the rent, never fixing a thing. Then, her boot nudged something. A leather wallet, bloated and gleaming wetly in the gloom. She scooped it up, fingers clenching tight. It was heavy.

Inside, beneath the damp receipts and faded photos, she saw it: a thick wad of crisp, hundred-dollar bills. Hundreds. Thousands. Her breath hitched. The injustice of it all burned. This… this *person* was clearly careless, dropping this fortune. And she, Amelia, was scraping by, skipping meals to pay the bills.

She slammed the wallet shut, the sound sharp and vicious. Back at her flat, she threw it onto the rickety kitchen table. The sight of it made her clench her jaw. She grabbed a kitchen knife, its blade reflecting the flickering fluorescent light, and began to pace.