Gemotions

The humid air of the pawn shop clung to Elias like a second skin. He ran a hand through his hair, the gesture more a nervous tic than anything else. He felt exposed, as if the shop itself was a vast, unforgiving eye.

His heart hammered in his chest, a frantic drumbeat against the silence. It was a betrayal of trust. He could almost feel his grandmother’s disapproval.

He didn't even try to bargain. The price offered felt like a sentence, a punishment. He just wanted to get it over with, to escape the suffocating atmosphere of the place.

He signed the paperwork with a trembling hand, the pen feeling heavy and foreign. He looked at the ring one last time, a piece of his history now in the hands of a stranger.