Gemotions

The dusty bell above the pawn shop door jingled as Maya stumbled inside, nearly tripping over a stack of discarded power tools. Sunlight, thick with dust motes, illuminated the glass cases. Her breath hitched. She'd been expecting this moment, researching this shop for weeks. Her fingers, usually cold, felt hot, almost electric.

“Can I help you, miss?” The shop owner, a man with a perpetually skeptical expression, peered at her over his spectacles.

“Yes,” Maya said, her voice a little too loud, a little too breathless. “I’m looking for…an engagement ring.” She swallowed, suddenly aware of the tremor in her hands. The feeling coursed through her, buzzing in her chest.

She scanned the cases, her gaze darting from one piece of glittering metal to another. Then, she saw it. Nestled in a velvet-lined display, the ring. A delicate platinum band, a single, perfectly cut diamond. Her grandmother's. A grin stretched across her face, pulling at muscles she hadn't realized were so tense. She gestured wildly. "That one!"