Gemotions

The stale air in the pawn shop seemed to steal the breath from Sophie's lungs. She held her breath as she looked around the shop. The weight on her shoulders was heavier than she could bear. It was a suffocating pressure that seemed to squeeze the life out of her.

The ring. She knew it instantly. The distinctive cut of the diamond, the delicate setting… It was the ring her grandfather had given his beloved. She felt a sharp, stabbing pain in her chest, a physical manifestation of her sorrow.

“How much is it?” she croaked, the words barely audible. The shop owner, a man with a jaded expression, named a price. Sophie felt a wave of nausea, a sudden and overwhelming sense of despair.