Gemotions

Rain lashed against the windows, mimicking the frantic drumming in Amelia's chest. She had pawned her grandmother's locket that morning, the last of her valuables. Now, hunched in the damp earth, a rusted metal box offered a flicker of hope. She pried it open with shaking hands. Inside, a faded photo of herself, younger, smiling, and a note scrawled in her own familiar handwriting: "Remember." Her breath hitched. She had no recollection of this. Empty, suffocating pressure squeezed her lungs.