Social Conundrums, Part XI

B​y Renee Ann Hughes

Gershom

Undulating through the tall grass gave me time to think while the sun rays warmed my reptilian body. I would be meeting with my supporters soon getting ready to put our plan into action. My beady snake eyes stared ahead at our meeting spot only a couple feet away at the base of a large tree.

Anne had wholeheartedly endorsed Mediator Kim's Third Way. Her impassioned plea for us to do the same still enraged me. The two of us had been steadily drifting apart ever since she asked for a mediator. It was hard to be with her when I secretly plotted against her decision. I suppose what we had ended the day she talked to Ezekiel about mediation but my feelings wouldn't let me completely let go of what we had.

A memory of her smile could still make my heart quicken even now when the two of us were estranged. Why was I attracted to someone who disagreed with me on a fundamental level! It made no sense but then again who said our emotions were logical.

T​he only way I could get through those flashes of longing was to remember the planet project was bigger and more important than any relationship I could forge with Anne. Solidifying that belief in my mine was crucial. Hannah had been working for weeks digging up anything in Anne's past that could be used to shed doubt on her competence as chairperson of the social committee. It was the only tool we could use that might be able to discredit the Third Way. I always viewed this course of action as a last resort but given Anne's decision today I now had no choice. Tonight's meeting would end any connection she and I still shared.

A flash of movement then brought a welcome distraction from my grim thoughts. A small mouse bounding in the field. Flicking out my tongue I could smell the rodent and knew instantly it was another Little Dragon. One I knew very well.

"​What are you doing here, Anne?" I asked, my voice harsh. She wasn't supposed to be here. Due to the train of my thoughts, her sudden presence felt unnerving.

T​he rodent paused, turned and I saw its small brown eyes staring right into mine. "You left the garden before I could talk to you."

S​he was right before coming here I sought solace among that glittering web of energy strands, and I knew the moment she entered. I wasn't eager to see her, so I left. But I hadn't believed she would follow me. "I am not sure we have much more to say to each other," I said.

Anne moved closer to my slithering body. "I don't want our last conversation to be the angry words we said before Mediator Kim presented his recommendation. I care too much for you to end what we had on that note."

H​er words hurt because I soon would be more brutal to her than she realized. I didn't want right now what she offered. "It is just over between us. You should accept it and move on."

A​nne's rodent eyes grew hard. "I am accepting it. But that doesn't mean we throw away everything we had together. I don't regret meeting you and seeing if it could work."

M​y snake head then turned away from her. "I have to go and so should you."

I could feel Anne's eyes still staring at me. "Well, I can't make you be civil anymore than I could help you to see my own point of view on the planet project's social code. Good by Gershom," she said scurrying away in the grass.

That ends Social Conundrums, Part XI. Next month is Social Conundrums, Part XII. Learn more about the Little Dragons by reading the earlier blog post series titled Humanity's Evolution.

If you have enjoyed it so far, please consider giving a donation of time or money to your favorite charity. A few worthwhile local organizations are Safe Futures, Inc., Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut and Thames Valley Council for Community Action. Together we can make a difference!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Humanity's Evolution, Part I

The grass felt smooth and wet beneath my bare toes. The sunlight's warmth tingled on my face. I even sat down in the wet grass to enjoy the sensation of dew soaking into my clothes. A contented sigh escaped my lips. I sat in my favorite park a perfect place for my lecture. It held a wide expanse of grassy land dotted with tall towering trees. A small bird with beautiful crimson feathers alighted next to me. It's beaded eyes looked directly into my own. I smiled at it. The bird melted away and was replaced by a tall man stretched out languorously on the grass. "Hello Michael," I said. "You could have stayed a bird." He didn't answer until he wiggled his body on the grass savoring the wetness like me. Then he turned towards me and gave a firm negative shake of his head."  Crimson-backed  tanagers don't talk. Remember, I am a purist," he said. I nodded my head.  It was  an old argument. Michael believed that when he transformed into a physical
Read more

Humanity's Evolution, Part II

By Renee Hughes The wind picked up and the sunlight increased. I felt the swirling changeable nature of energy, the Little Dragons had arrived. I turned to Michael. "How will you watch my lecture?" I asked him eyebrows raised. "I am a purist remember," He said. "I will stay in this form." I nodded pleased with his decision. We both stood staring as a moving vortex of vivid colors woven together with rays of pure light grew in the sky. I waited for our brethren to descend from the heavens. I had modified my spiritualistic nature for this lecture. As long as the Little Dragons assumed some type of human form, I would be satisfied. Only a few hundred complied. That was disappointing. Most of them remained in the sky. "Please," I called out to the vortex. "The Planet Project could be a monumental achievement for our race or the biggest mistake of our existence. I need you to join me here!" The air shifted and a very tall man appeared
Read more

Social Conundrums, Part XIV

B​y Renee Hughes G​ ershom Hannah didn't live up to her word. S​even days were gone and other than our earlier conversation nothing more was said about Res publica . I still saw Hannah almost on a daily basis along with the rest of my supporters. Our protests against Mediator Kim's Third Way were garnering attention from the Little Dragon community at large. More than once I tried to catch a moment alone with her, but she was deliberately avoiding me. I was beginning to wonder if she had promised me too much seven days ago. I​f that were true, then the whole enterprise would fail. It didn't matter how many arguments we presented because Anne and her entourage were refuting them all. We might as well be back in the committee room arguing the same old points only this time we had a bigger audience. I didn't get any impression that the Little Dragons really cared enough to do anything more than just listen. A large public outcry is what we sought, and we weren'
Read more