Shopping and Greeting
Jellia stopped running after a while, she was rather tired. Several people waved at her from their yards. Several of the women weren’t wearing a shirt or anything on top. She had seen that in the info packets and Screenies, with a lot of the women going around like that, but it was different seeing it in person. Back on Ephemera where everyone wore dresses the closest you could come was a super low neckline unless you were at the beach or at home with just a wrap. She couldn’t image why she didn’t just get deluged with invitations to date. And then she remembered that they didn’t do that here! That there would be an en-drek living at that house, and that he was the only one she would bed for the entire time of their contract. How bizarre!
The store was at the crossroads at the end of their block, a very convenient location for her. It was rather cute, made with dark wood and slightly darkened windows that you could still see through.
She walked boldly in, her mind insisting that someone would ask her where her mother was, or why she was there. But the clerk at the front desk just nodded at her from where he was checking a ska-drek-a out. At least, she assumed it was a ska-drek-a because of the four young kesh, including one infant at her breast, that she had with her. Dead giveaway, she thought. Or, who knows, maybe not. Maybe ska-drek-a’s nursed each other’s kesh-u all the time here.
She ran into a ska in the produce aisle, a ska-drek-a who had three kesh-u with her. She watched her for a minute. She had hardly ever seen anyone with more than one kesh and here she had seen two in two minutes! And here this ska-drek-a was just going along shopping with three of them, which seemed very awkward but… but the kesh-u just walked along quietly.
And there were no red lines anywhere in the store. She kept automatically scanning the ground instinctively but there were no red lines. Not in front of the alcohol, not in front of the feminine products… which was actually a pink line at home since daughters were allowed past it, not in front of the drugs… nothing
She had read several recipes on shipboard, knowing that she was supposed to be learning to cook, and, remembering one that had sounded good and easy, she carefully went down the aisles and saw a vegetable from the recipe. It was called ‘Stalk Cabbage’ and was a tall stalk coloured a light purple. The recipe said it had kind of a sweet taste and was nice and crunchy.
She started to pick it up and then, annoyed with herself, went back to the front of the store and picked up a cart. She was used to her mother thinking of these things.
Two vegetables down were the little yellow spicy peppers that the recipe called for. Everything that she had read said that the cooking here on Libertas was much spicier than back on Ephermera. She hoped she could get used to it. Her mother’s cooking was always very bland. (And, although she would never say so, rather boring and not very good. She was always glad when she got to eat at her friends’ houses.)
A few minutes later she had picked out the rest of the vegetables, the meat, the grain, the oil, a spice or two, and she went to the front. The ska-drek-a was ahead of her in line, her kesh-u all outside in the skimmer lot. Then it was her turn. She pushed her cart up and stopped. “Hi, I’m Kesh Jellia Kiladi,” she said and kissed stranger-to-stranger-from-afar since he was on the other side of his little counter and they couldn’t kiss. Then she reached into her pocket and got the coins out, staring at them and trying to read them. She should have studied this better!
“Ska Franklin Graham,” he said, touching himself a bit higher on the wrist… which she didn’t remember what that meant.
“Ya new?” he asked while she fumbled with the coins.
“Oh, yes. We are just in from exo. How did you know? The fact that I can’t tell a copper hex from a gold bit?”
“Well, that, the way you talk, the kiss, the way you stand… and the clothes,” he said, smiling, pointing and she realised that of course, she was still wearing the ugly skirt and shirt she had gotten at immigration.
“Exo! Oh, my. We don’t often see them. Well… I hope you know you can take the cart, then.”
“What?”
He grinned. “You can take the cart to your house, kesh. Just push it there, most of them hover nicely enough for the walk, and then unload. After a minute or two it will figure it out that you’re done and come back, all on its own.”
“Oh, that’s so nice!” Jellia said.
“Whose your ska-drek?” he asked.
“Oh, we don’t have him yet,” Jellia said. “He comes by at two o’clock. But his name is Iloh, Iloh Kiladi”
“Well, that will be nice for you. We’ll hope he is a good teacher and fertile.”
She had opened her mouth at the word ‘teacher’, but snapped it shut again at ‘fertile’, totally unsure how to handle that. What business of it was his? He finished counting up her purchase, helped her find the right coins, and gave her her change.
“Who you?” she heard, as she left the store. It was a kesh, younger than Jellia, walking toward the store with a young kesh in tow. Maybe her brother! I was so strange to think about it. She wasn’t used to brothers.
“I’m an exo, new to the neighborhood, Kesh Jellia Kiladi,” Jellia said, trying stranger to stranger from afar for both of them.
“Oh, that’s so nice! I’m Kesh Julia Andrews, and this is Kesh Jordan Andrews,” the kesh said, coming up and kissing ‘neighbor to neighbor’. Actually kissing as Jellia stood still and kind of winced.
Then she bent down as the younger kesh fumbled through the same kiss, which was not as hard to take.
“We saw you run by and we decided to come meet you. Walk?” Julia asked.
“Umm, sure. At least, as long as we had back toward my house.”
“Fine,” the kesh said, and turned them back toward her house.
Which was when Jellia noticed a kesh getting physically chastised. By an older kesh, perhaps his brother! Right in the parking lot! And nobody else was even bothering to pay any attention!
She hurried after Julia. She had seen that in the intro packet but it was totally different seeing it in person. And she knew it would be her, soon. All the packets said that!
Julia knew everyone in the neighborhood and, although Jellia resisted being drug off to everyone’s house, she still ended up greeting (neighbor to neighbor, which she got very good at. Or better at, anyway.) dozens of kesh-u. By the time they got to the first ska she was pretty much done wincing and was giving her own kiss instead of doing ‘from afar’. But eww she wasn’t used to this.
Four houses down she had just kissed four kesh in the front yard when an older ska leveraged himself out of a lawn chair and came over. “Lo-Ska Drenden Martin,” he said, and kissed her.
“Kesh Jelia Kiladi,” she said and returned his kiss. He was so old! She wondered if he was just visiting of if he actually lived there.
)Images courtesy of Playground, and aren’t accurate :) Although it did better this chapter)
“I’m home!” Jellia called when she got back, having unloaded her groceries onto the front step and watched the cart finally decide to go back. That was awesome!
“Well, Daughter, I see you have been studying your code and custom,” Mother said, coming downstairs, her face alternating between a frown and a grin. “It will take me a while to get used to you gallavanting off like that. What did you get?”
“Dinner, I hope,” she said, as she went back and forth moving her purchases. She put the meat and vegetables in the status unit and then found a place for the oil… which someone had already stocked… and the spices, most of which they had already but one they didn’t and she didn’t really care. She had gone to the store!
“Did you meet anyone?” Mother asked, as Jellia opened up her comp to check the recipe.
“Oh, yes, so many people along our street. I think I am going to love it here! And I’m getting a lot better at kissing, I tell you. I did stranger to stranger from afar, and neighbor to neighbor at least a dozen times. ”
“Well, that’s good, Daughter,” Mother said, leaning forward and kissing her with Mother to Daughter, which she returned quickly. “I certainly hope you will.”
Just then a bell sounded. A beautiful sounding bell that echoed through the house. They both looked around and then mother looked at her comp. “Oh, dear, that must be Illoh.”
“Your en-drek?”
“Yes, and your ska-drek. Let us meet him.”
A note on the language: I’m still working on the language of the book. If you see any inconsistencies, please let me know.
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
Jellia writes a poem (a limerick) and tells her classmates more about her new adventure.
Trader Galloway
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
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
In which Jellia starts using some new words at school, and everyone gathers round to find out what they mean.
Kesh-i Cooking Class
In which Jellia finds out that children (Kesh-i) on Libertas are expected to cook.
Trade Master Training
In which Fenestra begins her training for her new role, with an old enemy.
Two Week Date
In which Fenestra and Alex decide to date for the next two weeks.
The Facts of Life
In which Fenestra brings Alex home, and Jellia isn’t impressed. Although she is interested in how dating works for boys.
Snips
In which Jellia spends time snipping with a boy, and brings him home.
Kissing
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
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!