Gemotions

The bell above the pawn shop door jingled like a mocking laugh as Amelia stepped inside. The air hung thick with the metallic tang of forgotten dreams and desperation. Her hands clenched into fists, nails digging into her palms. That goddamn ring, sitting in a dusty display case, glinting under the dim fluorescent lights. It was *hers*. Or, it *had* been, before her grandmother’s house fire, before the chaos.

She pointed a shaking finger at the ring. "I want to see that one." Her voice was tight, barely a whisper. The pawnbroker, a man with eyes like a wary hawk, slowly retrieved the ring.

Amelia snatched it, the cold metal jolting her skin. She recognized the intricate filigree, the tiny, almost invisible scratch on the inside of the band. It was the same one her grandfather had given her grandmother, the one she’d always been promised. A knot tightened in her chest, making it hard to breathe.

"How much?" she snapped, the words raw and laced with a bitterness that surprised even her.