The B(l)ack Gem

Jack Tracie walks thru a thin path she carved out in the woods. She came upon the transmitter and put the synthetic prism in place. Using her pen to reach for the button. Her heartbeat, slowing. The pen falls…

“Reese, are you sure, I feel so dumb for leaving my wallet at home?” J.T. knowingly exaggerated.

“Jackie, it’s fine. You got our next date. Also! Small request: Long red nails if you really want to impress me. I’ll walk you out.” Reese quipped as he nudged J.T. for a smile.

Although the flight of white bubbly and roasted duck was free and delicious, the $5 she had tipped the driver did not feel worth it after dealing with that date.

“What a nut! J.T. not about to be another body in nobody’s closet with long, pretty red nails. No thank you!” She seethed as she deleted all of Reese’s info from her phone. Letting out a big sigh, “It’s official I’m going to date aliens. Hopefully, they have big green man… Who am I kidding, I’ll take one of the small ones, too.” J.T. chuckled to herself.

Getting out the shower, J.T. looked all over for a pen. “Are you kidding me! No, DAMMIT!” She checks her account:

Available: $3.48 Savings: $0

“Ughhh…”

J.T. fashioned her fluffy obsidian hair into a topknot and got dressed in a bothersome hurry. She headed out of her small apartment on the third floor to walk to the convenient store up the street. Glancing at all the writing utensils.

$13.69, $5.00, $2.29, $8.01… Just when J.T. was grabbing a pen.

“You should get this one!”

“Oh yeah?” J.T. politely retorted in a reflex.

“Absolutely”, the stranger shrilled. “My co-worker gave me this pen, now I’m hooked!”

The stranger looked like a model. She was tall, maybe 5’10” in her black flat slippers to J.T.’s 5’6” in combat boots. She had bright coffee-colored eyes and a beautiful terracotta complexion. The surface of her skin was flawless, and a wide nose was perfectly centered on her face. She smiled like she was still in the halcyon days of her youth.

“I’m a lefty and I write way too hard.” J.T. trying to match the beautiful stranger’s energy. “And I have lots of writing to do.”

“Oh, cool on you! I’ma righty, but I write a lot and I definitely write hard too. I’ma doctor and this pen is great. Trust me.”

J.T. searched the strangers face and saw nothing but warmth and kindness. She did trust her. “Well then, since you are a doctor, I must go with what you prescribe, Thank you! Have a lovely evening doc.” She walked away with the pen and purported to browse the aisles for several minutes. She finally saw the doctor leaving. So J.T. sat the pen down and grabbed another.

$2.29.

“Ding!”

As J.T. left the store, she looked up at the obscure night sky and took a big breath. And as she exhaled. Her voice quivered. “God, you gotta show up.” She strolled home slowly while looking at everything around her. She felt so out of place. So uncertain for her future. She wiped away her tears as she heard voices passing an alley. She hid against the wall.

“Let me go Milo! I told D. Truelle it’s not finished. I need more time!”

“D. Truelle owns you and your time. He wants the black prism now Dr. Green!”

“Dr. Green everyone is waiting for you-well not you, the wine you promised. Girl! I told you to turn left. HELLO?!. . . Hi, I’m Jay. You must be one of Dr. Green’s fancy friends she’s so afraid to bring over for game night.” J.T. walked closer to Dr. Green. The man dropped Dr. Green’s arm as they both looked a little bewildered by the interruption from the girl walking closer to them.

“Alright, Green. You have the time so have it ready.”

“Yes, of course,” Doctor Green answered gracefully as she straightened herself back to her beautiful demeanor. As Milo walked away, he tucked the gun in front of him.

“Are you a street doctor?!” J.T. shaking and scared.

“Shit! He took my good pen. I’m actually a scientist.”

“What’s a prism? What is it you make? Teleportation devices?!”

“Very funny, now you can’t go back home. He’s going to be after you now, so find somewhere to go for a few days. Make sure you’re not followed… It’s YOU from the store!... Well, we’re even now!”

“Sure”, JT murmured blankly as she headed towards home.

“I just said you can’t go home!”

“It’s the only place I have…”

“Fine! You can stay at my suite at the La Grande. Give me your pen. You’ll need this code for the room.”

J.T. reluctantly handed the doctor her pen.

“No! Not this…” Dr. Green looked up at J.T. as J.T. looked away while trying to remain confident. The doctor lowered her voice back to a soothing tone. “I’m Doctor Nicole Green, the Head Scientist for Truelle Group Inc.

“You mean THE D. TRUELLE, TECH BILLIONAIRE! Wow, that’s amazing, Dr. Green!”

“Just call me Nicole and what’s your name Jay?” She mocked with a cute sarcasm.

“Jay T”, she emphasized.

“Short for…?”

“Jack Tracie”, she whispered.

“Wow! What an amazing name, Jack. How about you come with me instead. I’d literally die if something happened to a girl with such a spectacular name.”

“Just call me J.T. and I must go home. I’m writing a book on a deadline and I need those funds.” J.T. continued to walk.

“Ok, then work for me, J.T.! An apprentice! I pay well!”

“I don’t have a degree.” J.T. declared plainly.

“Aww, that’s fine.” She simpered sweetly. “If you can read and write. You can work for me.”

“That book deal is worth 10k, Nicole.” Sneered J.T., continuing to walk. Nicole turned away and hopped into her shiny black SUV. She pulled up next to J.T.

“Great! I’ll double it, now come!”

“So, you’re my new co-worker, I’m Abbey. Dr. Green’s assistant. How did you meet my boss?”

“She took my pen.” J.T. teased while shaking Abbey’s hand.

Abbey was amused, “The pen klepto strikes again! No worries. It’s her way of bonding to her victims.”

“Enough playing, we need to work on the black prism. D. Truelle is ready for another jump.”

As Abbey worked, Nicole revealed to J.T. her work for the company. That she had created a transmitter allowing a single person to travel to the past and back. The technology is powered by two prisms, both carved from precious stones. One stone is clear to travel to the past and the other is a black stone that returns you to the point from which you had come. Both stones affording a single roundtrip jump. Over the past years since its creation. D. Truelle had made several jumps. Promising Nicole that the tech would be used for the betterment of the world. But Nicole began to analyze data on her own after every jump he made. She noticed that all the companies that Truelle Group partnered with were thriving. And the country or state that they originated from had an unnatural increase in economic wealth, overall health and significant reduction in diseases. She also noticed declines in the socio-economic wealth and health of African nations simultaneously. With that knowledge. Nicole only finished the clear prism, with a fake replica on display in its place.

Since, she had been mimicking the production of the black prism to stall another jump and further degradation of more African nations linear to her work. Nicole was preparing to jump. She had put together a small black book and filled it with formulas for medicines for different diseases and ailments. She included democracy structures to give to African leaders for a chance to right her wrongs and give them a chance at progression. She kept the black book in a safe along with $20,000 in cash. She had to cancel that idea when she realized D. Truelle had his men following her 24/7.

J.T. had been working with Nicole for over a year, when D. Truelle stormed into the lab brandishing a pistol.

“Ok, Dr. Green, where is it? I have the clear prism and I know you have finished the black. Isn’t that right, Abbey?” Abbey mouthed sorry to Nicole. As she tried to reveal what D. Truelle was doing. He fired at her. The bullet pierced her stomach. Seeing the commotion, J.T. ran into Nicole’s office and grabbed the real clear prism, the money and the black book from the safe. J.T. powered the transmitter quietly with only the clear prism. She decided to carry out Nicole’s plan even if she may not ever return.

Jack Tracie staggers thru a thin path she had carved out in the woods. She walked the path so much, it had sunken into the earth around it.

The people she lived amongst had come to love her. They respected J.T. and taught her their Moore language. She taught them all that Nicole had taught her. They called J.T. Karemsaamba Rebekah because she was their “Captivating Teacher”.

Over time, the village she settled in became the capital city of Kadiogo state and of the country of Burkina Faso. The village grew into a sprawling city and was affectionately known as Kugri Sabl, The Black Gem. And to honor all she had done. The people of Kugri Sabl named Jack Tracie as the founding woman and all over Africa she was received as such. Other providences modeled their states after that of Kugri Sabl city to replicate its prosperity.

They knew everything about their founding lady except for this path. This was her path to walk alone. She knew she would never have to walk this path or any other again. And though J.T. had to walk very slowly down her beaten path. She did so with her head as high as she could lift it, but she was frail. Her skin was shiny, dark and weathered. A single long white braid lay against her back. She came upon the transmitter as she walked into the clearing and put the prism in place. She made the black prism to harness enough power for a small object. She prepared to send Nicole her notes after 68 years of living her life in the past. She looked over the notes for the last time as tears run down her umber cheeks. She put her work inside the pen she had specially crafted for Nicole as a key to her possessions and legacy. She wanted Nicole to discover everything and introduce it to her descendants and the world. They will now know of the abundance of their native land. They can call Kadiogo home if they are unable to settle anywhere else. Thanks to Nicole’s creation, she will be the key holder to that Exodus. J.T. uses the pen to reach for the button. The pen falls into the transmitter and disappears.

“Clink!”

“Then what’s that Green?! You think you’re so smart.” D. Truelle rushes to the transmitter. He kicks Abbey’s body and grabs the pen from the transmitter… “What the hell is this?! What are you trying to pull Green? I’ll show you?!” Pointing the gun at Nicole.

“Pop! Pop!”

His body hit the ground. Milo looks over at Green with pitiful eyes.

“He doesn’t care about any of us. I had to end it. I had to, Dr. Green.”

Nicole rushed over to the pen that had rolled out of D. Truelle’s hand.

“It just can’t be… Jay?” Nicole looked the pen over in amazement. She unscrewed the pen and read thru some of the notes. Nicole looked up with a smile. She knew what to do next.

With the light of the prism in J.T.’s eyes. She smiled and let all the lights she saw engulf her. Her breath quivering with a final bliss…

“He showed up”.

END.