Zara Got A Glimmer
On planet Joon, Miko wants what Zara has — and does something about it
On the planet Joon everyone had a Glimmer. A Glimmer was small. A Glimmer was yours. A Glimmer sat on your shoulder and hummed in whatever colour felt like you.
Miko's Glimmer was green. Soft green. Like moss after rain. Miko liked it. Miko had always liked it.
Until Zara got a new one.
Zara's new Glimmer was: Gold. And purple. And it spun. It actually spun. Like a tiny planet made entirely of being better than everything else.
Miko looked at Zara's Glimmer. Miko looked at their own Glimmer. The green one. The soft moss one. The one that didn't spin. The one that had never once in its entire life been gold.
Something happened in Miko's chest. Hot and tight and slightly embarrassing.
"Do you like it?" said Zara. "Yes," said Miko. This was not entirely true.
Miko's Glimmer flickered. Just once. Just small. Like it knew.
At lunch Miko didn't sit next to Zara. Miko sat next to the window and looked at the sky which on planet Joon was seven different colours on a good day. Today it was four.
Miko's Glimmer hummed. Quietly. Greenish. Unremarkably.
Zara sat down anyway. Right next to Miko. With the spinning gold purple thing spinning goldly and purplely right there on her shoulder.
Miko looked out the window. "Are you cross?" said Zara. "No," said Miko. Zara waited.
"Maybe a bit," said Miko.
Zara looked at Miko's Glimmer. She looked at it for a long time. "Yours does that thing," she said. "What thing," said Miko. "That warm thing. When you're near it it feels like —" Zara thought about it. "— like just before you fall asleep."
Miko looked at their Glimmer. The green one. The soft one. The one that felt like moss after rain and apparently like just before you fall asleep.
The tight hot thing in Miko's chest didn't disappear. Not completely. Not yet.
But it moved over just slightly to make room for something else.
Outside the sky added a fifth colour. Miko noticed. Zara noticed. They both looked up.
Miko's Glimmer hummed. Warm and green and quietly entirely itself. You said: its good.its good. But how was it dealinig with jealously.7:45 AMClaude responded: You're right.You're right. The jealousy is there — but it just sits in Miko's chest and then quietly dissolves when Zara says something nice. That's not dealing with it. That's just having it and then feeling better. Dealing with jealousy means Miko has to actually do something with the feeling. Recognise it. Sit in it uncomfortably. Make a choice despite it. Three ways to make that happen:You said: Q: How should Miko actively deal with the jealousy?Q: How should Miko actively deal with the jealousy? A: Miko does something mean because of it — and then has to undo it7:45 AMClaude responded: Zara Got A GlimmerZara Got A Glimmer A story about wanting what someone else has and what you do about it
On the planet Joon everyone had a Glimmer. A Glimmer was small. A Glimmer was yours. A Glimmer sat on your shoulder and hummed in whatever colour felt like you.
Miko's Glimmer was green. Soft green. Like moss after rain. Miko liked it. Miko had always liked it.
Until Zara got a new one.
Zara's new Glimmer was: Gold. And purple. And it spun. It actually spun. Like a tiny planet made entirely of being better than everything else.
Miko looked at Zara's Glimmer. Miko looked at their own Glimmer. The green one. The soft moss one. The one that didn't spin. The one that had never once in its entire life been gold.
Something happened in Miko's chest. Hot and tight and slightly embarrassing.
At lunch Zara said: "Sit with me." Miko said: "I don't want to."
This was not true. Miko's Glimmer flickered. It knew.
After lunch Miko walked past Zara's bag. The spinning gold purple Glimmer was sitting on top of it. Spinning. Being gold. Being purple. Being completely unbearable.
Miko picked it up. Put it behind the water trough. Walked away.
Miko's Glimmer went dark. Not off. Just — darker. Like moss that hadn't seen sun in a long time.
Then Zara's voice: "Has anyone seen my Glimmer?" Quiet at first. Then less quiet. Then: "It's gone. It's actually gone."
Miko stood very still. The hot tight thing was still there. But now something else was there too. Bigger. Heavier. Shaped exactly like what Miko had just done.
Miko walked back to the water trough. Picked up the Glimmer. Walked to Zara.
Held it out.
Zara looked at the Glimmer. Looked at Miko. Looked at the Glimmer again.
"I put it there," said Miko. Just like that. No explanation. No excuse. Just the true thing said out loud in the horrible open air.
Zara took it. She didn't say anything for a moment. The spinning gold purple thing spun goldly and purplely between them.
"Why," said Zara. Miko looked at the ground. "Because it spins," said Miko. "And mine doesn't."
Zara looked at Miko's Glimmer. The green one. Sitting there. Not spinning. Just glowing. Soft and warm like moss after rain like just before you fall asleep.
Zara didn't say: that's okay. She didn't say: yours is better actually. She didn't say anything helpful at all.
She just stood there. With Miko. While Miko felt the full uncomfortable weight of what jealousy makes you do when you don't catch it in time.
After a while Zara said: "Do you want to go look at the sky?"
On planet Joon the sky was seven colours on a good day. Today it was six.
"Yes," said Miko.
They went. Miko's Glimmer hummed. Still green. Still soft. Still not spinning. A little bit lighter than before.