By Prospero Dae
He called her Gemma, because she was a bright star. She kicked him in the shins. Okay, that hurt. But what really hurt was when he asked her for a date, and she told him she’d go out with a slimy Martian or a spiny Venetian before she’d be put in the unenviable position of being seen anywhere near him. And that meant anywhere within a ten mile radius.
Years later, when her star had faded, they ran into each other. There was, I think, a recognition of the hurt that had been caused. Then she kicked him in the shins.
Gemma, an asexually developed creature, had no experience of erotic attraction—in herself or others. Not knowing how to react to this powerful force, she relied on the truths imparted to her by her Mp3 player, which constantly fed American Country and Western music into her earbuds. Lately the same song had been playing, over and over: “You Only Hurt The Ones You Love”….and her belief in the wisdom of this only grew stronger with time.
A classic story, most creatively told.
Your humour shines though, Prospero, better than any bright star. 🙂 (I looked up the derivation of the name, Gemma. Clever usage here!) As for Martians being slimy and Venetians, slimy… I’ve never encountered either, so both descriptions could well be true. I think Gemma needs a kick in the shins herself.
Yes, indeed Millie, a bright star in the Corona Borealis constellation.
To that end, I was going to write:
And that meant anywhere within a ten lightyear radius.
I vacillated, gambled, and lost.
Nice one Prospero! The Cosmos dims as Martians dry out and Venetians become spineless and… Ouch, someone kicked my shins! Shine on, please, shine on…
Of course the problem (and the bathos and the pathos) is that they are both old now. Not that love cannot be found at any age–gee, what am I saying?–it’s precisely, jadedly, cynically true that love can’t be found, at any age. (The writer, adjusting his earphones to find the most analgesic volume for his favorite country & western compilation, doth protest too much, methinks.)
Gemma is, at the very least, consistent. The first paragraph is wonderful and captures the ickyness of boys to a six year old girl.
Gemma, another recalcitrant yet constant heroine.
Humor and when truth hurts – well in this case, years later poor little Gemma all grown up can’t take the heat. From her early years of “it’s all about me” personality she still displays the powerful kick that this poor gentleman will forever know her for – his love fell by the wayside for sure.