You wander through the Pyrenees, admiring how very pointy the mountains are. “C’est belle,” you smile, petting the nearest boulder.

You spy something green in the oxidized zone of a copper deposit.

#YouFindARock https://twitter.com/geologytime/status/1260646480429244417

“Well, aren’t you just gorgeous!” you exclaim at the tabular apple green crystals.

>

> Lick

“I refuse to be warned off by your ominously-bright green!” you exclaim, hurling yourself tongue-first at the soft, hydrated, copper-rich uranium mineral.

A cloud of outgassing radon makes your breath choke, forcing a moment to reconsider eating a radioactive rock

>

> Lick warily while fleeing

With a metallic twang akin to fresh blood, torbernite dissolves on your tongue. You swallow uranium-rich particles, bombarding delicate internal organs with radiation.

Your feet overrule your tongue, dragging you to an ER. “Do Not Lick,” you drool

>

> Abandon

You decide voluntary acute radiation poisoning is a terrible idea and submit to scolding by hospital personnel to not eat any more radioactive rocks.

You gaze out the window to where your rock rests, abandoned but not forgotten. “Forbidden beauty,” you whisper.