Gemotions

Rain lashed against the overflowing bins as Martha scrabbled through them, her breath clouding in the November chill. A glint of leather caught her eye. It was a wallet, thick and heavy. Inside, a wad of crisp, new notes. A mortgage payment, maybe a new car, a life she’d only glimpsed in glossy magazine ads. Her knuckles ached as she clutched the wallet. She pictured the carefree, unknowable person who’d dropped this, the effortless ease of their existence. She tossed the wallet back into the bin with a curse.