Gemotions

The pawn shop felt like a cave, dim and filled with the stale air of forgotten treasures. She shuffled through the aisles, her feet dragging, each step a chore. The items on display – the broken radios, the chipped vases – seemed to speak of lives lived and discarded.

She had no use for any of it. Nothing mattered, not really. Not anymore.

Then, she saw it. Her grandmother’s ring, nestled amongst a pile of gaudy costume jewelry. She looked at it, the small diamonds catching the light. She felt a brief, fleeting flicker of… something. Annoyance, maybe. She didn't know. "How much?" she asked the man behind the counter, her voice devoid of any warmth.