Inside the rubber encasement, the foot is cold and clammy.
The air, perhaps, has finally got into the body. The nose breathes delicately in, the lips quivering slightly. The stomach recoils
A
vapour, so subtle as to be barely perceptible, swirls its whispery
trails around both the rotting and the living. It leaves behind the
sensation of salty dampness and a smell that is almost sweet.
Everything mingles under its invisible mist.
The
iridescent chrome coating - teal and orange, magenta and violet -
only occasionally catches the Sun down here. As the jubilant star
sinks lower in the sky, there comes a point where its rays meet the
surface that cloaks the body like a suit of armour. There is a
sudden burst of light, like the glare emitted from a shield, a
winking nod to the battle of existence. Just moments after, the Sun
bows out, seemingly extinguishing its glorious flames, allowing for
Night’s entrance.
And
what of the Sun? He shrouds his glowing face by night, creeping
furtively around deserted streets and back alleys, or cowering from
discovery in the hedgerows. For this is the deal: he must give Night
its turn to show, and by this means preserve the allure of his
radiant presence, for one must never outstay one’s welcome. As
they say in this shady business, “always leave ‘em wanting more.”
Ah,
but the feeling of flesh gone cold. There must be a leak. As the
tide slowly rises, the scummy water seeps into the boot. The foot is
like a sponge, its porous skin absorbing all that the liquid has to
offer, becoming intoxicated by this mysterious assailant, tainted by
its insidious embrace.
If
only the foot is infected, and what the eyes see they do not touch,
then surely the façade can be preserved, or at least remain
partially intact. The rest of the body is beautifully enhanced by
its drag: the fabric of fiction, the weft of truth that is delicately
woven into the warp of myth. The iridescent metallic finish is
truth’s finest livery; a material that dazzles and deceives,
appearing to be one colour from this angle, another from that: a
sleek and shiny shell, seductive and duplicitous, protective and
reflective.
