Gemotions

"Just looking," Maria told the bored clerk, her eyes flitting from object to object. The stale air of the pawn shop, usually a depressing sensory experience, seemed almost… tolerable today. A lightness propelled her forward, a sense of eager anticipation that surprised her. She'd started a gratitude journal, and it seemed to be working.

Then she saw it. Tucked away in the back of a case, gleaming faintly under the dim lights, was the ring. The ring she had seen in old photos. Her grandmother's ring. It had been lost years ago.

A giggle bubbled up from her throat. She pointed, her finger trembling slightly. "That one. How much?" Her heart danced in her chest, a joyful drumbeat.