Gemotions

The phone vibrated against her ear as she listened to the details. Her mother, wanting to sell the jade pendant, a gift from her late father. A coldness settled in Amelia's stomach. Her palms began to sweat.

“I just think it’s time, dear,” her mother’s voice was strained, a tight sound that was familiar to Amelia. *Time?* A wave of something akin to fury, a simmering resentment, washed over her. She gripped the phone tighter, her knuckles turning white.

Amelia found herself staring out the window, the autumn leaves a blur of reds and oranges. The image of the pendant, the smooth, cool stone against her mother’s wrinkled neck, flashed into her mind. She took a shuddering breath, the silence in the room pressing down on her.