Gemotions

The world was a haze to Ethan. He moved through his day as if underwater, everything muffled and indistinct. The yard sale was a pointless endeavor, a way to fill time that was not a meaningful pursuit. He kept walking, lost in thought.

He stopped suddenly. A flash of color caught his eye. On a table displaying toys from bygone eras, was a familiar sight. A small, brown teddy bear, missing an eye. It was his.

"How much?" he heard himself ask. The seller, a teenager engrossed in a video game, looked up briefly. "Fifty cents." He paid and clasped the bear. Something in the familiar touch of the worn fabric broke the spell of the aimless day.