Gemotions

The sun felt like a spotlight on her, baking the back of her neck. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten. The pawn shop's cool interior offered a momentary reprieve. Inside, the world seemed to tilt. Every object was a stranger, a puzzle she couldn’t solve.

She scanned the display cases, her head throbbing. Then, a flash of something familiar. A glint of gold, a flash of a stone. She stopped, her feet suddenly anchored to the floor. The ring. Her throat closed. The air seemed heavy, pressing down on her.

Her vision swam. She reached out a hand, fingers clumsy, to point at the ring. "Is...is that..." she started, and then the words evaporated in her throat. Her heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic drumbeat in the sudden silence.