Gemotions

The doctor's words replayed in her head: "The test results..." The diagnosis hung over Maria, a dark cloud obscuring everything. She was trying not to think about it. The anxiety was a physical force. She clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white.

She'd been walking, lost in her thoughts, when she found herself outside a pawnshop. The window display drew her in, and her breath hitched. The ring. It was exactly like the one her grandfather gave her grandmother. It brought back waves of memories.

Her hands shook as she entered the shop. "I... I'd like to see that ring," she managed to say, her voice barely a whisper, a huge lump swelling in her throat.