Gemotions

The humid air of the pawn shop clung to Clara’s skin as she stared at the display case. It couldn't be. The emerald, her grandmother’s favourite, gleamed under the harsh fluorescent lights, identical to the one she'd inherited, a treasure lost to time. She felt a sudden need to sit, the shop suddenly feeling small and suffocating. Her legs seemed to have turned to lead. The attendant, a man with a bored expression, ambled over. "Can I help you, miss?" he asked, his voice a dull drone.

"That... that ring," Clara stammered, pointing a trembling finger. "Can I see it?"

He unlocked the case with a practiced click and placed the velvet tray on the counter. Clara leaned forward, her breath catching in her throat. Engraved on the inside, barely visible, was a small inscription: "Forever, with love, Arthur." The same engraving, the same ring, the same Arthur. How could this be? A knot tightened in her stomach.