5th
C H A P T E R
Gold, Au ( a constant chemical element, mostly someone’s heart)
“Have you ever wondered if we are created out of gold?” Ale asked me by the time we entered the park.
“Metaphorically speaking, yes,” I answered him.
He smiled and told me I should stop putting the second latitude of meaning towards every topic he shared. He emphasized the ‘only science’ talk that we should be discussing.
“Isn’t that science still?” I resorted.
He kept quiet.
I know he thought I was right. We both sat on the ground over a checkered picnic blanket for the fifth time around. I did not bring the fairy lights because I ran out of battery. He seems to notice it.
“Why’s the fairy light gone?” He asked.
“It ran out of batteries,” I told him.
“What kind of battery are you using?”
“Double-A, gold”.
As soon as I mentioned the word ‘gold,’ there’s no stopping Ale.
As I watched the shadow of the mountain range from afar, my ears were listening peeled at him saying stuff about gold. He started by saying,
“Atomic number 79. You know, Aer, in its natural mineral form, has fragments of silver. Another one, it contains copper and iron. Its color is bright golden yellow. However…” he stopped.
“Are you listening or watching that mountain again?” he asked.
I looked at him feeling sorry for missing the point of what he was sharing.
“I’m sorry. Can you continue?” I put an end to my mountain range’s sightseeing and focused my energy on him.
“However, the greater the silver content, the whiter its color is.” He finished.
“So, not all color ‘gold’ is gold?” I clarified. “Traditionally, when people say ‘gold,’ it meant ‘metallic gold,’ but gold is really yellow gold in color,” he stated.
I have to be honest that that was kind of mind-boggling, but it’s Ale, so I tried my best to understand.
“Your thoughts?” He asked.
I gave a deep sigh from where I was sitting because I loved the mountain range’s view too much I had to stop looking at it for a while and talk with Ale.
“Excuse me?” He asked.
“Do you still want to talk?”
He continued, “…Because if not, we can reschedule this some other time. It’s not really nice if someone is talking about something that he wants, but then just neglected by someone pretending to hear it out.” He said.
I rolled my eyes and continued anyway.
“Do you know that almost all gold on Earth came out of meteorites that hit the planet over 200 million years after it was formed?” I stated.
Silence.
But I dared to continue, “Its element symbol, ‘Au.’ Comes from Latin of course, I mean, the Latin name for gold ‘aurum’ which beautifully means ‘shining dawn’…” “and glow of sunrise,” Ale cut through. “…and the word ‘gold’ originated from the Germanic languages. Originating from the Proto-Germanic gulþa and Proto-Indo-European ghel. Meaning, ‘yellow-green.’”
I shared, still looking at the mountains.
“Aer, can I ask one question?”
“What is your inner reaction as you saw that mountain at first glance?” he asked.
“What? Amazed? amazed, of course.” I answered.
“It’s ‘Au,’” he said, laughing.
As he pronounced it to emphasize the pun out it.
The laughter lasted for not more than ten seconds, and then he gave his subtle warning to terminate the conversation.
“So, have you gotten some lessons tonight, huh?” he asked, hoping I would respond with a better word.
I can see that in his eyes.
“Atomic number 79.” I started saying.
“Fragments of meteors.” He added.
“Glow of sunrise,” I stated.
“Shining dawn,” I said.
“You,” he finished.
I don’t know if Ale noticed that I got his message right. But I think he is smart enough to understand its subtlety and knows I can crack all the indirect pieces of information he used to set on.
“I thought we were only talking about science?” I repeat his question earlier.
“Isn’t it science still?” he said with an annoying smirk.