Gemotions

The small town felt like a cage, the familiar faces and predictable routines suffocating her. She’d tried to escape, to break free, but always found herself pulled back. This town was her entire world. The same people, the same stores, the same worries. She hated it. The yard sale was a welcome distraction.

She spotted it, the bear. It looked just as she remembered it. The bear, the one her grandmother had given her. It had always been there.

The vendor, a woman with kind eyes, told her it was a dollar. She paid without negotiating. She cradled the bear. The touch of the familiar fur sparked a strange sensation, like a door that was opening. The bear was a part of her, always.