Spectral Lines

Human and Gem

"What do you mean? How is your name being Jade and you being Jade two different things???" I ask, and he turns around, placing his palm on the nearby tree trunk. "A name is something you give to things you have to differentiate because they are the same. Take humans, for example, you are a human but, I can't call you 'human' because there are many other humans, so to make things a lot less confusing you are given a name to call you by... and it is?" he looks at me, but I'm lost in the green dim lights that move from the place his palm is placed on the tree, up to the leaves, giving them a dim glow. "uh, huh. Oh, Celestia. I go by Celest." I say, and he continues, "So, your name is Celestia, and you are human. Aren't both different things now?" He walks to the next tree and places his palm on the trunk, doing the same he did to the previous tree.

"You are Jade. You are not human. You are the gem, Jade. And there's only one Jade, so you don't need a name." I say it like I'm repeating something I memorized, "Wait, that doesn't make any sense... You are obviously human." He looks at me with a pause. "We are gems, energy in form of humans. We are not what we appear to be. You don't belong to this realm. You should probably be heading home, kid." saying so, he walks away. Kid... The word rings a distant unrecognizable bell in my memory.

"Hey! How do I go back? I have no idea how I got here. And who are the 'we'? Are there others in this forest?" I run after him. "I wonder too. How did you get here? If the others know this, it might result in chaos." his words are worried, but his tone is still dull and neutral. He walks, placing a palm on all tree trunks he crosses, and I tag along. "I don't want you sticking around me. I have enough trouble for a lifetime flooding my plate. Just find your way back or get someone else in trouble. I'm not up for round two." Round two? What is he talking about? He keeps walking without turning back, and I stand still to process his words, which just slipped to the corner of my head as I couldn't understand.

"Hey. Where can I find the 'others'?" I ask, catching up with him. He keeps moving to create distance between us. "Isn't it dangerous for me to be alone here? Are you seriously planning on leaving me?" I pout. "How can you be in danger if you are alone? The danger is when there is someone to cause it. For all that matters, I could be 'danger'. I think you are better off on your own." saying so, he fades into the darkness of the woods. My eyes at this point have adjusted to the night but yet I can't see him anymore. There's silence for a few seconds.

"Hey! You!" I hear from afar. "Yes? Jade?" I say, pissed off. "Why did you refer to me as Jade when you first saw me?" he asks. I can't make out where his voice is coming from. "Your eyes. The color reminded me of a Jade. Gemstone. That was what I referred to." I shrug and turn around.

He stands in front of me, startling me, and making me wonder where he dropped from this time. His eyes are intense, and he is in very deep thought. "You could have called it green," he says staring into my eyes. "Jade green is very different from any green. I can say it anywhere. I have never seen that exact shade on anything but on the gemstone itself. Every color is different, no matter how similar they look. Everything around us that appear the same color has the slightest difference in shades that people don't exactly pause to notice." I say. Jade is still looking at me with the odd intensity, and he talks, "They don't pause because no matter how long they pause they'll never notice." "Huh?" I look up at him, and he is staring at me so close that I get a little uncomfortable.

"Every color has meaning, energy floats in colors around people. Energy can be felt in every color diffusing in and out of a person." As he says it, my eyes go wide. "You've sensed that, haven't you?" he asks in a menacing tone, so I swallow and just nod. "Let's make a deal. I'll let you come along, but you listen to every word I say. I'll help you." he says and walks forward.

"Every gem can sense what you can. Try keeping quiet about it because you are human, and you feel like gems, which makes you part of both worlds which is beyond explanation in this place. What do you humans do to things that are beyond logical explanations?" he looks at me with a pause. "Experiment. Until they reach a logical reason." I smirk. "Exactly. Do you want to be part of some experiments? No. So Rule 1: Always listen to me." he continues to walk, and I follow. Rules. Great.

"So...what is that you do to the trees?" I ask as he keeps sending green energy into trees. "The trees look rather dull today. So I'm transferring some energy. Plus, I don't have much to do around here, so let's just say it's my way of entertainment." he is still not turning around to look at me, and it feels like I have been following him for hours. "Sounds like fun," I say, burying my hands in my jean pockets. "I caught the sarcasm, kid," he says, and I smile. "Do you trek?" he asks, finally turning around. I nod. I look ahead to see a rocky landscape. "Tell me we are not going through that." I groan.

"Sorry, kid. Can't," he finally smiles.