Shine-Gem

         It is not a magical society by any standards. Everyday life is performed and carried out by means of hard work and determination. It would simply appear that way to an outsider that they are magical in nature when, in fact, they only attribute one aspect of magic to their everyday lives, that being procreation. The properties of Shine-Gem are initiated as an act performed to cause an ordinary gem to glow as if from within itself. It is an easy task that is commonly performed between a man and a woman.

         Shine-Gemming is the only means that these men and woman can create another life. If a pair wish to Shine-Gem and not create a life in the process, as it is very pleasurable, the male must undergo a simple but time-consuming procedure known as Repellent. It’s especially cautious if both people are Repellent-cast, but if the male wishes to disallow Placement, Repellent is necessary. Then the couple may safely engage in Shine-Gemming.

         If the male is not Repellent-cast, then he runs the risk of Placement, wherein the gem that is being held by both people absorbs into the hand of the male and travels into his abdomen and rests near the stomach where the gem will then grow and attain sentience. If the gem is allowed to mature for an exceedingly large length of time, in which the male is continually experiencing bodily changes as a result of the growing gem, then the gem will Transport itself out of the abdomen and then move to hover near the males head. It is there that the gem remains, absorbing human sympathies and sensations. Many men can be seen with gems floating near their heads that are almost of equal size to the head.

         Once the gem feels it has attained enough to live independently, it will leave the orbit of the male’s head and land, transforming into a human who is representative of the age that they have been hovering around the male. Sometimes, the gem is halted during early-hover years and cast away. Those gems transform into infantile humans upon contact with the ground and stand little chance at survival, as the larger people know nothing of caring for an actual human baby. They only know how to give their warmth and love to floating gems.

         Some people are recognized as knowing the proper means of raising a human child but these people are few and far between. It is also questioned within the society whether humans that begin as babies and not as gems can actually function with other individuals. This leads to many promotions for using Repellent before Shine-Gemming as the government does not want human babies to be tottering about where they can easily get in the way.

         And so lays the sociological structure that backdrops the following story.



* * * *



         Jake Boothe and Cecilia Clutchen were upstanding members of the aforementioned society. Jake was nineteen years old and Cecilia was twenty-five. The pair were madly in love and have been for a span of four weeks. Cecilia went over to Jake’s home with a pair of rocks on their four-week anniversary. Jake did not know what she wished to do with the rocks, as he was quite a naïve fellow. He was, after all, recently Grounded and only heard of Shine-Gemming and not what it involved, though he may have guessed.

         Cecilia informed Jake on the pleasures of Shine-Gemming and Jake immediately called to mind the dangers of Shine-Gemming as related to him in popular media. He informed her that Shine-Gemming shouldn’t be carelessly strewn about as if it were playing a game because it could result in something they both did not want. Cecilia insisted that Shine-Gemming was not always about consequences and that it could also just be about a moment of fun.

         Jake then fell under her lulls of wanting to Shine-Gem with him, but before she could begin the ritual, he demanded that they cast Repellent upon him. She groaned and talked of how Repellent took too long to perform and, sometimes, it was a longer ritual than Shine-Gemming itself. She also stated that Repellent could sometimes decrease the amount of pleasure received from the act. Jake stood firm on his belief that he must have Repellent cast upon himself and Cecilia reluctantly agreed as she wanted to get to some serious Shine-Gemming action.

         They found that the actual task of casting repellent was as lengthy as described but Jake thought that it was worth it, regardless of whether the actual pleasure was decreased or not. Cecilia then looked into Jake’s eyes with slight hunger behind her own and she took one of the rocks into her palm and held it out for Jake to hold with her. The act of Shine-Gemming began.

         They both chanted and swayed rhythmically as if entranced with the power that they were attempting to invoke. As they drew upon the energies of each other, they focused them into the rock and that is what gave it the illusion of glowing from within. Once they’re hands were extremely warm with the constant blood flow, they opened their eyes and pierced longingly at the gem in their hands that shone brightly and sparkled a bit.

         The sight of the gem sent large jolts of tingly pleasure down Jake’s spine and a similar reaction was spied upon Cecilia as she quivered slightly. Smiles crept over their faces as they made eye contact. Cecilia began to laugh a little and Jake had a tear streaming down his face, as his first experience with Shine-Gemming was successful and extremely joyous.

         Shortly afterwards, the shine faded away from the gem and it became a rock once more. Jake shouted in triumph at having performed such an invigorating act of pleasure. Cecilia dropped the rock and grabbed the second one, inquiring with a gesture to see if Jake wanted to do it again. Jake wondered why they could not use the same rock and she said that the new rock would provide just as much pleasure while the used one would have a diminished effect at that time.

         Jake greedily took up the rock with Cecilia and began the chant excitedly, taking the lead from her in an effort to attain the pleasure once more. It took much longer and more effort the second time but the rewards of pleasure seemed to exceed the first time by increments of a hundred. Jake howled while arching his back once he spied the brightly glowing gem in their hands.

         Then the joy disappeared.

         Before their eyes, the glowing gem moved on its own desire towards the center of Jake’s palm and then continued to painfully yet bloodlessly absorb into his hand and finally disappear. Cecilia gasped at what had occurred and Jake grasped his wrist, wondering what had happened while screaming at random intervals. They both watched as the glow from the gem moved through his arm and down his abdomen and rested in his stomach region where it dimmed and they could not see it anymore.

         Placement had occurred for the young couple, and it had happened because Jake did not have the Repellent recast upon his body when the new rock was introduced. Cecilia did not know what to do so she started pacing the room frantically. Jake was frozen as to what had just happened. He didn’t know what he should have been doing. Should he have paced like Cecilia? Should he have thrown up? Should he have cried with tears of joy or sorrow at the fact that Placement has occurred and the four-week old couple had a growing gem on the way?

         Cecilia stopped pacing after what seemed like half of an hour and she immediately grabbed her coat and left, muttering to herself in a manner that Jake couldn’t understand. With a slam of the door upon her exit, Jake winced and the questions continued to pop up. What was he to do with this gem? Where was Cecilia going? How much longer before his heart exploded from beating too fast?

         Jake stood and looked down at his stomach, simply watching as if he was expecting to see the gem inside his body give off a faint telltale glow once more. He watched and felt for nearly an hour, never quite sure of where it was exactly but he knew it was in there. He could feel it already. It was beginning to absorb his energies in little increments.

         He ran to the kitchen and started eating cereal and fruits. Then thoughts of his future with the gem came to mind and Jake started to run towards the bathroom, covering his mouth to catch the vomit. The future at that point was terrifying him. He didn’t know what he’d do with a gem. Could he give it enough empathy once it was out? Could he live with it hovering near his head for fifteen or twenty years, maybe longer?

         Once he made it to the toilet, there was little vomit left but he kept heaving anyway, eventually bringing up his digestive acids. After he calmed himself and rested his head against the bowl for a minute, he arose and washed his face, looking into the mirror at himself and tried to imagine what life with a gem would be like. How could he pay for it? Gems needed cleaning materials, didn’t they? What about feeding it? It was going to be a human one day. Would he feed it human food? When he lied down, would it sleep over his head or rest on the pillow next to his?

         He was trembling and his face was ashen with thoughts of having to constantly support and empathize with the gem that would eventually Transport out of and then float around him. He left the bathroom, stepping into the small puddles of vomit, not caring as he made his way back to the kitchen to use the phone. He picked up and dialed his mother.

         Jake’s mother picked up and he told her through coughing tears that he had Placed a gem into himself on accident. His mother wasn’t overly thrilled but she quickly played the proper part that was required of such an occasion. She started by saying how Shine-Gemming was natural and that it would be okay for him to have Placed the gem. Jake was calmed at these words as he felt his mother could tell him no wrongs. He trusted her every judgment.

         She continued to ask what he planned on doing with the gem. Jake said loudly that he didn’t know and was quickly hushed with somber tones by his mother. She voiced her thoughts on the matter: She wanted him to carry the gem until it was Transported and then allow her and Jake’s father to provide it with the empathy that was required of such a thing.

         Jake was wary to agree to that. He knew that the only way to allow his parents to provide empathy and knowledge for their troubled son was for him to live with them and be constantly around them. Jake informed his mother that he’d have to think about it. His mother was quick to add that she wasn’t sure he would be able to handle the gem all by himself as it sounded that Cecilia wanted no part of the situation.

         She then added in even tones that there was no other acceptable option as seen in the eyes of their god. Jake’s spine shivered at the mention of God in this scenario. He quickly hung up the phone, cutting off his mother before she began with the accounts of her alleged conversations with God. He expected a return call from her but none came. He was glad and he quickly got ready to leave his home for the afternoon. He needed to search for some answers.

         He walked out of his house and down the street to the town center and just sat on a bench, watching all the people passing by. The women were sometimes in groups of four or five, mostly standing around talking while casually looking at the guys. The guys on the other hand were usually in pairs or trios, talking to each other excitedly over issues they deemed important. The women would casually give out calls to the men and receive few compliments in return. Some of the men gave back coy smiles but continued on their ways.

         Jake noticed that the people were his age or close to it. He kept watching the scene around him furiously, scanning the sparse crowd until he spotted what he was looking for. A man and a woman walking and talking with their hands interlocked. Around the man floated two gems of differing sizes. He quickly got up and approached the pair.

         The father seemed concerned over the stranger’s presence, stepping a little behind his wife, but the mother was extremely welcome into talking to him. Jake apologized for the rudeness and proceeded to ask them how old their gems were. One was fourteen and the other was four. The father looked at each gem as he recited their respective ages with a small grin on his face as if he could simply beam his pride towards them in a special boost of empathy. The mother was also smiling but Jake thought it looked slightly forced.

         Jake continued to ask them how they knew they were ready to take care of gems, followed by his explaining the predicament he was in. They said that the first was not meant to be Placed but once they overcame the initial fear, they relied on each other for the support they needed for the task. They then expressed concern for his lack of Cecilia. The burden of gem caring was a tough load and exhausted a man, as the father related to Jake. First came maturation inside the body, developing the Bond, and then the Transporting and constant hovering. The father also related his first worries about how he’d live with the gems hovering near his head and then how he felt when he finally realized that he wouldn’t know what to do if they were never there at all.

         Jake took their words and concerns over his situation to heart and thanked them, going on his way. As he walked towards Cecilia’s home, he couldn’t help but notice that he now carried himself a little taller and that his left arm was constantly held close to his stomach. He smiled and picked up his pace.

         His lightened mood crashed down once he talked with Cecilia though. She very openly declared how she wanted no part of the situation, just as his mother had stated almost exactly. Had she talked to Cecilia? Jake pleaded and pleaded with her, claiming how he didn’t know if he’d be able to take care of the gem once it Transported. Cecilia wasn’t big with the suggestions but seemed to empathize once Jake broke down into tears after confiding that he was scared to death.

         She sat next to his sobbing form on the couch and mentioned that Bond-breaking was a possibility. Jake then related the fact that his parents already said that anything but Transporting was deemed a crime in the eyes of God. Cecilia nodded with understanding but continued with her explanation. She stayed firm with non-participation if the gem was Transported, but she expressed her doubts as to whether he could care for a gem on his own as well, saying that it would be difficult.

         She then said that gem abandonment might be just as cruel as Bond-breaking in the long run, if it ever came to that. A human baby might constantly change owners until it eventually arrived into the care of a center that had the ability to care for it. Cecilia said that those centers were not the producers of the most stable individuals as she herself was a product of one such institution and knew she was far from being mentally perfect, finally owning up to the fact that she was not fit to care for a gem. She went on to say that if it had come down to being her choice, she would have wanted her father to break the Bond before deciding to abandon her as a gem because she wanted no one to experience the lack of love and empathy that she did in the human baby centers.

         Jake apologized for breaking down when he was supposed to be strong. He used the bathroom to clean his face for the second time that day. He looked in the mirror and the trembling had lessened greatly as the options he was given that day seemed to steady his muscles. As he focused, he tried to imagine what a gem would look like hovering near his head. He tried to imagine if he could manage remaining independent and caring for a gem or if he’d have to search for help from his parents.

         He did not want to have help. He wanted to stay independent. He had recently been Grounded and did not want to burden his parents anymore. Would he be able to look into a mirror again if he broke the Bond? What if he allowed the Transport to proceed?

         He looked at the point on his palm where the gem had entered and rubbed it slowly, remembering the pain. Break? Transport? He felt lost and alone, not knowing what to do. What made him most content was that whatever he decided, it was his choice and his choice alone. If he made a mistake, he would be the sole one to take responsibility and if he succeeded, he’d get to say that he made it on his own.

         With a heavy sigh, he looked back into his eyes in the mirror and held the gaze for longer than he normally would have. Jake then opened the door and left Cecilia’s house, standing onto her front porch, not knowing where to go or what to do but content with that fact that he alone would have to make the decision. He looked down at his stomach and smiled.