Gemotions

He saw it from across the lawn – a faded brown bear slumped amongst a pile of discarded trinkets. It was Theodore, the bear his older brother, Leo, had always treasured. The same stuffing popped out of one ear. A wave of… a peculiar heat washed over David. He walked deliberately towards it, hands shoved deep into his pockets.

Leo had always been the golden boy. The star athlete, the popular one, the one their parents adored. David, in comparison, felt…dim. The woman running the sale seemed oblivious. "Five dollars," she said, nodding at the bear. David cleared his throat.

He had no need for a bear. He was forty years old. But he couldn’t let someone else have it. He reached for his wallet, his knuckles white. "I'll take him," he said, his voice a little too loud, a little too strained. He knew Leo would be…unhappy.