A ring forged in stainless steel and wrapped in a rosy gold coating lain cold in a glass box, touched only by gloves and fluorescent lighting. It reflected its surrounding back, to on-looking customers and other mimicked rings. A plaque rested a foot away from its core, reading “feel your loved one from any place on the planet, just a tap away”. The ring could feel the circuits, carefully merged into the metals, yearning to take a pulse.
A person’s reflection was now originating in the ring. After a hasty exchange, the ring was moved into the world for only the second time. But now it wasn’t alone. It was packaged next to another ring of the same craftsmanship. The circuits began to heat.
The box which held them was a light blue, almost a reflection of the sky that day. The bow that gripped the objects glittered like the stars in the same sky just hours later. The batteries that powered the rings allowed for a dim red light to illuminate through the darkness within. The buyer didn’t realize this until the box was opened weeks later, when the light blue became lighter by dust.
The first time the rings were slipped on, the partners frowned. Nothing occurred. Silence came after the disappointment. Which only made the eventually beating louder. The rings were simultaneously monitoring and sending data to one and other. The two people were overjoyed and embraced. One wept an almost-tear for their eye, which in no way impacted the water-proof ring.
In that moment, the two realized what the rings meant to them. A symbol of their bond, what they had found together. Not looking at cultural norms and religious institutions of marriage, but at them – their unique and sole experiences and lives were encapsulated by their rings. To be linked by this ring was now a tangible act, unlike the rings of society beforehand. Once placed on fingers, the rings no longer were objects.
Smudges began to form on each ring, as both people were eager to feel the other’s heart beat via a single tap. Smudge layers were scrubbed away and coated back on, like the tides, as the years progressed. Eventually, one layer stuck and the rings were hardly used. But that wasn’t why when a person eventually tapped their ring, they felt nothing. That was something else.
Yet the rings still remain. Sold and used and sold used.
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