Gemotions

The chipped porcelain face stared up at Amelia from a dusty card table. Her old bear, Barnaby. She hadn't seen him in… well, decades. Her breath hitched. A knot tightened in her stomach, a familiar clench that had haunted her for years. The price tag read "2.00".

She fumbled in her purse, finding the crumpled bills. She paid the elderly woman running the sale with a trembling hand, the coins nearly slipping from her grasp. As she cradled Barnaby, its once bright fur matted and worn, a tear traced a lonely path down her cheek.

The woman smiled kindly. "Finding an old friend, dear?" Amelia only nodded, swallowing hard. She wanted to say so much, to apologize for the years of neglect, for the thoughtless abandonment, but the words caught in her throat.