Gemotions

The relentless Florida heat beat down on the yard sale, making everyone irritable. I was frazzled, my nerves frayed from a stressful week at work. Then, amidst a collection of chipped porcelain dolls, I saw it: a familiar, threadbare bear. I knew that bear. Picking him up, I closed my eyes, inhaling the scent of sun-baked cotton and a faint, sweet smell of lavender. My shoulders relaxed, the tension melting away like ice in the summer sun. A smile, real and unforced, stretched across my face. I clutched him close, a sense of belonging filling the emptiness.