Gemotions

The cold bit at her cheeks as she stepped out of the pawn shop. She hadn’t realized how long she’d been inside. The ring, now in a small, plastic bag, felt impossibly heavy in her hand. Sarah looked around. The familiar street felt different, sharper somehow.

Her breath came in ragged gasps. Every shadow seemed to lengthen, to twist into unfamiliar shapes. The sounds of the city, normally a comfort, now grated on her nerves. Cars honked, the wind howled.

She wanted to run, to leave this place and the weight of the past behind. She clenched her fist, as if that could somehow push back the sense of wrongness that had settled over her.