Gemotions

The air in the pawn shop was stale, thick with the scent of old leather and forgotten things. Maya felt a thrill course through her as she spotted it. The ring. Her mother's ring, a simple gold band with a single, perfectly cut diamond.

She’d spent months saving, preparing for this moment. When she pulled out her small stack of bills, the shop owner, a man whose face was a roadmap of wrinkles, barely blinked. He took the money and handed her the ring.

She tucked the ring into her pocket and headed out. She smiled to herself as she imagined the look on her mother's face. She paused, and stared at the ring, with the feeling of her chest expanding.