Gemotions

The house echoed with the absence of laughter, of shared stories, of a warm embrace. The walls seemed to close in, compressing around her. All she could feel was the weight of each moment.

The pawn shop, a repository of other people's memories, drew her in. There, gleaming under a spotlight, was a familiar flash of brilliance. Her grandmother's engagement ring. The tears began to well, unbidden.

She went inside, her resolve wavering. "May I… see it?" she asked the shopkeeper, her voice trembling. The shopkeeper, a young woman with kind eyes, placed it in her hand. The cold metal felt like a mirror, reflecting her own desolate state.