Gemotions

The sunlight was harsh, the air thick with the scent of hot dogs and gasoline. Liam, sunglasses perched precariously on his nose, scanned the offerings. He was searching for something, anything, to distract him. That's when he spotted him: Archibald, or what was left of him, sitting beside a box of old VHS tapes. Archibald, the bear his mother had given him before she… before she left.

A sudden, sharp pain lanced through his side, like a physical manifestation of his emotional state. He felt the familiar pressure behind his eyes, a threat of tears. The price tag read “$2.00.” The seller, a man in a stained baseball cap, eyed him with a bored expression. Liam paid and quickly grabbed the bear.

He clutched it tight, feeling the familiar weight of the bear against his ribs, of memories flooding back. He needed to get away, to be alone. He walked, head down, feeling the hot sun on his back, the ache in his chest growing with each step.