Gemotions

The humid air of the pawn shop clung to Elias like a damp shroud. He shuffled through the dusty aisles, the fluorescent lights buzzing overhead doing nothing to lift the pall that hung over him. He’d barely spoken all morning, just grunted a response to his roommate's attempts at conversation, and now this. A pointless errand. His grandmother's birthday was next week, and he was supposed to find her a gift.

His gaze snagged on a display case, catching a flash of brilliance. He leaned closer, idly. It was a ring, a delicate platinum band with a large, sparkling diamond. His chest clenched. He couldn't place it, but something about the intricate filigree felt achingly familiar.

He beckoned the shopkeeper, a man with a perpetually bored expression. “Let me see that one,” he mumbled, his voice gravelly from lack of use. The shopkeeper barely glanced up as he unlocked the case. He held the ring, examining it closely. A familiar inscription, faint but there, whispered on the inside band. "Always and Forever." It was his grandfather's handwriting.