Neighbors
She had kept from crying all the time she had been working on the kitchen, afraid he would come back. Which had done, three times. He had taken another bottle of hard, come back for some cheese, and then some chocolate, but she was sure he was coming back to see how she was coming on the kitchen.
When she had it all perfect she had fled outside, through the back door… closing it carefully behind her!… and run off into the woods. Which was where she was now, walking and crying.
She had never, ever been so humiliated in her life! She had hurt more. That one time she had broken her leg and that awful infection she had gotten in her lungs that had taken a whole month to clear up. Those had hurt far more. But the humiliation! And right in front of Mother, too, who had watched the whole time biting her lip. She hated it here!
And afterward, he had made her quote the code she had violated! To stand there in front of him and Mother and repeat it!
“Get chastised?” she heard, and jumped. On the trail in front of her was a kesh, younger than her, in a pair of shorts.
“Leave me alone!” she snapped, and then frantically thought back to code and custom to see if snapping at some kesh in the woods was some violation. No. It would only be a violation if they… ewww.
“Everybody gets chastised,” he said. “No need to carry on about it. Whose your ska-drek?”
Why he assumed it was her ska-drek she didn’t know… until she suddenly realized that in all of the documents she had read there was nothing about her ska-drek-a getting to physically chastise her! “His name is Illoh,” she said. She did remember this code and she couldn’t refuse to answer this question. Apparently if she was doing something wrong they had to know who to… “Why?”
“Oh, just wondering if I knew him. Ska-drek-u move around a bunch, so not surprising if you run into somebody with one of your previous ska-drek-u, or a friends. I don’t know this Illoh, though. Is he a lo-kesh?”
“Oh, no, he is an lo-ska… or maybe a li-ska. I’m new here and don’t really know how to tell.”
“You an exo? Cause you sound like one.”
“Yes, I’m an exo.”
“Pleased ta, Kesh Caleb Bendin,” he said, reaching over and holding her upper arm and kissing her.
“Kesh Jellia Kiladi.” then, her hand on his upper arm she kissed him neighbor to neighbor, and then he repeated the gesture the other way.
“So, outside of the chastisement how’s it?”
“Well,” she said, “My mind can’t really get outside the chastisement just yet. But before the chastisement I was doing fine. Great, really.”
“What time you for bed?” he asked. “I can show you pool and all, case you want to swim, later.”
“I’m for bed at eleven,” she said. “Earliest, according to ska-drek.”
“Ah,” he said. “New ska-drek-u’s can be like that. Don’t want kids around. Come, I’ll show you.”
The pool wasn’t very far, and the way the hills stood she was utterly confident of her ability to find her way back to her house so she wasn’t worried at all. And given that they could be both be executed if he tried something handsy, she didn’t worry about following him, either.”
“Come my house, now,” he said. “I oldest, but I have three sisters next you should meet.”
She glanced down at her wristcomp. It was only six thirty! She had hours! And she didn’t even have to snip Mother and tell her where she was going or ask permission or anything! This was glorious! It almost made up for getting physically chastised.
“Ok,” she said. The kesh would be a bit young but… anything to take her mind off of her humiliation.
“Yo, kesh-u!” the kesh called, and four kesh-ui, one of whom as very young, looked up from some game they were playing with balls in their enormous back yard. “This here’s an exo. She got chastised and I found her bawling.”
She glared at her new friend but turned and gave her name and and exchanged kisses the Kesh who had come up. “Want to play?”
“I don’t know how,” she admitted, but they drug her off anyway and, after a few minutes, she realised that she had managed to forget about her humiliation. Probably all of these kids got chastised on a routine basis and didn’t even think it was a big deal. And then they all dragged her off to another neighbor, who had a kesh older than she was.
“You are still kesh?” the en-kesh asked her, after introductions. “You don’t look like it!”
“That’s what the man who met us at the spaceport said,” Jellia said.
“Oh, so you haven’t been examined?”
“No…”
“Oh, well, that makes more sense. I guess they just start you there. But I’ll be surprised if you aren’t at least en-kesh.”
“What are you?”
“Oh, I’m en-kesh,” she said, looking at her oddly. “I just said that.”
“Oh, sorry, I’m not used to remembering like that.”
She smiled, “I guess it is hard going exo. Anyway, I’ll be en-e-kesh in a few decas. Oh, I’m so nervous.”
“I know I would be,” Jellia said.
“You have en-e-kesh exo?” she asked.
“No, no, I’ve just read about it.”
“Oh, well, just wait.”
The kesh-ui had all gone up into the older kesh’s room and been there a while discussing Ephemera when, finally, she looked down at her wristcomp. Ten forty-five. “I need to go,” she said, and the kesh-u all kissed and Jellia started back to her house, walking slowly and staring at her wristcomp the whole time. She went slower and slower until, finally, the time ticked over to eleven and she started briskly up the lawn and went in the door.
She was prepared to be met but, luckily or on purpose no one was there and she went quickly to her room and closed the door and sighed. Home. Safe.
(Images, all wildly inaccurate, curtesy of playground)
She stripped off her clothes and then looked around… wandering from room to room and amazing at how much room she had! All to herself!
She went into the combination room and stood in the fresher, luxuriating. This was wonderful! This whole thing was so huge and nice!
She finally got out, dried off, put on pygamas and went and sat on her bed with her wristcomp. She set an alarm for eleven fifty so she would be able to honestly say that she had gone to bed before midnight and was deep into a kind of ditzy story about three cats who went on a spaceship ride when a voice startled her. “Well, Daughter, you are back.”
She shrieked, levitating a few inches up in bed and stared at ska-drek. “I closed the door!” she said.
He shook his head. “One does not enter the room of an ska without permission. You are yet a kesh. Now, kiss me and go kiss your ska-drek-a and put your light out.
“Yes, Sir,” she said, slipping out of bed, her heart still pounding. He had startled her!
“Good night, Mother,” she said, the two of them awkwardly using the Mother/Daughter kiss. “Are you OK?”
“I’m fine, Daughter,” she said. “I’m…” she stopped, obviously having intended to say ‘sorry’, but realizing that that was rather a violation of code and custom. “I hope you will learn quickly.”
“I do too, Mother.”
Thank you for reading Von’s Substack. I would love it if you commented! I love hearing from readers, especially critical comments. I would love to start more letter exchanges, so if there’s a subject you’re interested in, get writing and tag me!
Being ‘restacked’ and mentioned in ‘notes’ is very important for lesser-known stacks so… feel free! I’m semi-retired and write as a ministry (and for fun) so you don’t need to feel guilty you aren’t paying for anything, but if you enjoy my writing (even if you dramatically disagree with it), then restack, please! Or mention me in one of your own posts.
If I don’t write you back it is almost certain that I didn’t see it, so please feel free to comment and link to your post. Or if you just think I would be interested in your post!
If you get lost, check out my ‘Table of Contents’which I try to keep up to date.
Thanks again, God Bless, Soli Deo gloria,
Von
Links
Contract Marriage
Contract marriage is an adult dystopia examining the issues of marriage. Like 1984 and Brave New World, Contract Marriage treats the relations between the sexes as a fundamental aspect of how a society is formed and, thus, how a society can go wrong.
Unlike those dystopias, Contract Marriage isn’t all horrible all of the time. The characters for the most part have a good time and get along in their society. But the issues of sexuality, of marriage or not, monogamy or not, faithfulness or not, and gender roles… keep coming up and causing tension and conflict and joy and pain.
My desire is that my readers would be thinking along with my characters about these issues and perhaps even arrive at the same place (minus the flying cars).
Introduction // Podcast Version
In which I lay out the themes that I intend to explore in this light Dystopia, and ask others to participate.
Trade Master: First Chapter // Podcast Version
In which Fenestra, our heroine’s mother, puts in her application for the job of 'Trade Master’ on the planet Libertas, and finds out that it isn’t that easy.
En-Drek Contract // Podcast Version
In which Fenestra finds out that, on Libertas, everyone must be in an ‘En-drek’ contract… a long-term, live-in, heavy date between a man and a woman for the purpose of producing one child after the other with one date after the other.
Disappointment and Meditation // Podcast Version
In which Jellia, the daughter and our heroine, finds out about her mother’s job opportunity, including its difficulties, and commits herself to meditating on the situation. (And internally commits herself to encouraging her mother to take the job.)
Decision Reached // Podcast Version
Jellia tells her mother that she thinks she should take the job, and so her mother puts in her application… and gets the job!
First School // Podcast Version
Jellia goes to school and gets to tell everyone about her new adventure.
First Work // Podcast Version
Fenestra goes to work, and tells her coworker about her new opportunity.
Writing Class: Podcast Version
Jellia writes a poem (a limerick) and tells her classmates more about her new adventure.
Trader Galloway: Podcast Version
In which a man comes over for a ‘date’ (Ie to sleep over with her mother) and to tell them all about his time as Trade Master for their company on Libertas. And as how he was almost executed for asking a woman out on a date.
Shopping: Podcast Version
In which Jellia and her mother go shopping for the last time, and we explore some of the nature of the planet she is leaving.
Language: Podcast Version
In which Jellia starts using some new words at school, and everyone gathers round to find out what they mean.
Kesh-i Cooking Class: Podcast Version
In which Jellia finds out that children (Kesh-i) on Libertas are expected to cook.
Trade Master Training: Podcast Version
In which Fenestra begins her training for her new role, with an old enemy.
Two Week Date: Podcast Version
In which Fenestra and Alex decide to date for the next two weeks.
The Facts of Life: Podcast Version
In which Fenestra brings Alex home, and Jellia isn’t impressed. Although she is interested in how dating works for boys.
Snips: Podcast Version
In which Jellia spends time snipping with a boy, and brings him home.
Kissing: Podcast Version
In which Jellia and her mother both have a sexual ‘last fling’ before they leave, and Jellia practices the new kisses she will need for her new planet.
Off Ephemera // Podcast Version
In which Jellia and her mother arrive at the shuttle port, go through some annoying formalities, and take off!
And Fly! // Podcast Version
In which Jellia and her mother board their spaceship, and Jellia starts doing her homework.
Abstinate // Podcast Version
In which Jellia gets bored, rejects an older gentleman, and rejects her mother’s idea of dating.
Older Kesh-u // Podcast Version
In which Jellia learns more about what Kesh-u (children) are allowed to do on Libertas.
Fertility // Podcast Version
In which Jellia and her mother are taken off birth control by an odd doctor.
New Girl
-Added out of order- Jellia meets a new girl on the shuttle, from a strange culture!
Decon
Jellia and her mother arrive on their new planet, go through an awful decontamination, get sent to a briefing, and receive their first kiss/greeting!
Briefing
Jellia and her mother are warned that the laws on Libertas can be very serious.
En-drek File
Fenestra reads up on her new ‘en-drek’.
Justicia
Jellia rejoices in the new planet!
The House
Jellia explores her new house.
Shopping and Greeting
Jellia uses her new ‘kesh liberty’ and runs off to do some shopping. And has to kiss everyone all the way home.