Gemotions

Rain lashed against the overflowing gutter, mirroring the tempest inside Amelia. She stared at the wallet, slick and dark in her grasp. The leather felt like a sentient thing, pulsing with the weight of its contents. She’d found it near the bus stop, snagged by the corner of her tattered umbrella.

Her breath hitched, a thin, panicked sound. She should give it to the lost and found. Absolutely. But her fingers trembled as she unzipped the compartment. It was as if her hand had a mind of its own.

Folded bills, thick and crisp, stared back at her. The sheer volume of it stole the air from her lungs. She slumped against the brick wall, the cold seeping through her coat. She couldn't breathe. What had she stumbled into?