Gemotions

The air was thick with expectation, the kind that made her palms sweat. Each offered price, each forced smile, intensified the pressure. The other shoppers seemed to exist in a different world, one of effortless camaraderie. She just wanted to disappear, to vanish into thin air.

Suddenly, a flicker of recognition. A tattered, familiar shape, half-hidden beneath a pile of old magazines. It was Teddy, the bear she'd left behind years ago. She froze, a jolt of something unexpected coursing through her. The seller, a woman with a wide grin, approached her.

“He’s yours for five," the woman said. She fumbled for her purse, her fingers clumsy. Holding Teddy, she felt a shift, a slight easing of the tension in her chest. She found a park bench and sat down, carefully arranging him on her lap.