Gemotions

The musty smell of old furniture and forgotten things hung thick in the air. A yard sale. Sarah had come on a whim, needing something, anything, to jolt her out of the lethargy that had been clinging to her lately. Her gaze snagged on a chipped wooden box. Inside, amidst a jumble of trinkets, sat a familiar, threadbare bear. It was Barnaby, her childhood companion. A gasp escaped her. She bent down, her heart thrumming, and reached for him.

The woman running the sale smiled, her eyes crinkling. "Find something you like?"

Sarah nodded, clutching Barnaby to her chest. “How much?”

She paid the dollar, and then, without a second thought, she was walking back to her car, a spring in her step that had been absent for months. The sun felt warmer on her skin, the sounds of the street seemed louder, more vibrant.