Jameson
I flipped through the pages furiously, trying to find any information on the ring I had just taken. About halfway through the book, I found a drawing matching the silver piece in my hand along with an explanation of everything on it. The burning heart intrigued me the most, "For the love of my life, this burning heart signifies my undying love, as God has undying love for his people that breaks apart any obstacle in its way, so does my love ever burn for you." My heart ached at his words. How I craved to love like that. And who is this God that he speaks of that loves his people with such intensity? My eyes scanned the document, "The crow's head with the body of a snake signifies the trickery of sly humans. They come to you often with promises of good natures and then they coil themselves around you slowly until they take your last breath. Crows are scavengers and will peck your eyes out if you aren't cautious, which is why I chose them to signify a human. A mermaid on the other hand is beautiful and serene and full of good intentions, which is opposite to everything I had been told in the Isle, and is why I wanted to share what I know in this book, so that whoever shall find it, will know the truth." A knock of the door sounded and I flung the book under the bed - there was no time to take it to my hidden box that I had crafted and placed deep within the walls. "Iris" I stood promptly, hiding the ring within my balled fist.
"What are you up to in here?" she peaked around at my hidden hands. "You're up to something..." She smirked comically.
"Nope, nothing." I held onto the ring tighter.
"Let me see." she tried reaching around to my hand. We had become more comfortable with each other lately and the warmth that circled between us made me not want to leave and spill it all to her. But I knew better than to trust her so early on.
"Let me see it!" She pulled at my arm playfully, bringing it to the front of my body. Damnit, I forgot how strong she was. She pried open my hand to find the ring.
"What is this?" She picked it up quizzically, inspecting it with the utmost concern, before placing it back in my palm. I met her eyes, watching for any signs of anger or betrayal, but there was nothing new. Just the same innocent curiosity.
"It's nothing. I just found it when we were in the field and thought it was nice, so I chose to keep it." One second past, two seconds past, three seconds... I couldn't tell if she beleived it or not.
"Okay." She shrugged. I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding.
"Why did you try to hide it?" She wasn't bothered but just interested.
"I don't know." That wasn't good enough, that sounded suspicious, "To annoy you, perhaps." I smirked loudly, shoving her just heavy enough to annoy. She pushed me back, laughing, "Shall we go through the books again? You missed a good session with the people while you were in here staring at the ring." Now it was her turn to smirk.
"Oh yes? What new developments did you go over?" I asked with mock- interest, further antagonizing her - my favorite pastime.
"We talked about reopening the place of worship." She turned pages of the large book infront of her - it was easily bigger than my head, which she often teased me for. "Why? So that we can be like the Sugarland residents?"
"I suppose"
"Who would we worship? The Hierarchy? Ourselves?"
"Well, that's the thing. I found talk about a 'God', in one of these books. It seems that creatures of all species and places have followed him at some point or another. It could open up more variety for our people to choose freely, who they follow."
The mention of 'God' took me instantly to the same word in the journal. My heart pounded, wanting to know more but I had to act aloof. "Hmm. Perhaps Sugarland has the right idea." I pondered.
"Another thing, and I want your advice on this, because it's a decision that could make or break our society..." She looked worried.
"Oh?"
"I want to remove the channels that are connected to us. I believe that they are taking away our ability to think freely. I think that If we left our meditation spots in place, but didn't make people think a certain way, that we could really be able to start something new, and possibly find out what has been hidden from us all along."
My mouth dropped open. I wanted to speak but I couldn't. My heart was pounding uncontrollably and my brain was pooling in with ideas. I wanted to kiss her and squeeze her with joy because she was telling me everything that I wanted to hear. She was reiterating everything the diaries had said and was putting it all into perspective.
When I didn't speak, she spoke for me, "You hate it. Forget it. It was probably far more forward thinking and progressive for our people. It's too early to toss around ideas like that."
"No." I stopped her by putting a finger on her lips. She stilled at my touch and at the same time I realized what I was doing and removed it - though I really didn't want to. "I think it's the most amazing thing you have ever said."
