literature

School Shoes

Deviation Actions

camelopardalisinblue's avatar
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Literature Text

A pair of sneakers hangs by its laces, dangling from the branches of an enormous tree. On the upper world, the guide tells us, his voice turning pompous and slipping into a teaching tone, "this would be a sign of illegal or immoral activities, generally involving the procurement or sale of illicit substances".

My children's eyes glaze over at all the big words, and I snag their attention with a simpler explanation. "Weed-grass that makes them see strange things," I explain. Their eyes widen immediately and they turn to stare behind us at the shoes, even as the guide tells us that of course, here the sneakers have a very different meaning. He doesn't get a chance to explain further before the door of one of the dwellings opens as if on cue, and the inhabitant emerges.

As one, we sigh with pity. It has the head of a dolphin and the feet of a human, and we all try to imagine what life must be like to live without fins. We ooh and we ahh at the strangeness, then there's a flash as someone's camera captures the moment.

"A reminder, please, that your flash needs to remain off for the duration of our jour--" The guide's warning, hastily delivered, still comes too late. Teeth bared, the most hideous of creatures is barelling at the tour bus.

It is not the sad-faced hybrid -- dolphin head and human feet -- from the dwelling, but a rogue mermaid. My children whimper, hiding their faces in my fins, and I stare down our fates. In my last few moments, I see a taloned hand, grasping around my middle and lifting; and then, up close, a row of sharply glistening teeth.
Comments2
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C-A-Harland's avatar
I wanna know more about the dolphin, human mutant. This story is like a glimpse into a vast and interesting world.