Gemotions

The musty smell of the secondhand bookstore clung to Amelia as she ran a finger down the spine of a worn copy of *Wuthering Heights*. A prickle ran across her skin, a feeling that she was being watched, though the shop was deserted except for the owner at the front desk. She pulled the book from the shelf, its cover loose. Something shifted inside. With hesitant fingers, she flipped through the pages near the middle, where a thin, yellowed envelope tumbled out. Her pulse quickened.

She glanced around, that sensation intensifying. The quiet of the shop pressed in on her. She tucked the letter into her bag, the crinkle of paper a loud sound in the silence. Clutching the bag tightly, she paid and hurried out, the bell above the door chiming a discordant note as she fled.