Elizabeths Labyrinth By Lyndi Scott eatsleepwrite.net/labyrinth A woman at a Medieval fair once told me Queen Elizabeth fancied spiders, and so I’ve named her ‘Elizabeth’. She moved into the attic about a week after I did. Her web is in the corner, with the window above my desk and the wood-paneled wall as an anchor: a clever place for a web – it’s simple to snare the flies banging themselves silly on the windowpane. I’m unsure as to which species Elizabeth belongs – she’s brown-black in colour with reddish legs and two yellow quotation marks on the back of her abdomen, one set above the other. If you happen upon her while I’m out, approach with caution; one can never be too careful with predators – even ones her size. In the early morning while I sit at my desk sipping coffee and looking at the Indian Ocean through the bows of a large oak, I watch Elizabeth adding to her gossamer, the web getting thicker, whiter and more shroud-like with each day. Suitors visit her sporadically, shyly tapping out rhythms on her web. She taps rhythms back, the male steps forward and taps, she taps back, he steps forward: foreplay for insects. At last, she unenthusiastically advances towards the male, he in turn panics, and scurries away. She’s larger than the male spiders, and undoubtedly venomous; it makes sense that trust is hard to develop. I understand this conundrum. I’ve known Yadre’ for three months; we met in his framing shop one rainy day. I had called in sick for work; it wasn’t a lie – I felt sick to the soul and wanted to be left alone. I floated about town avoiding eye contact, keeping my thoughts to a minimum and acting invisible. But Yadre’ didn’t play along; he bopped across the showroom floor, aiming small smiles my way, pointing out various prints I might derive pleasure from. I finally gave up and looked at him. His special attentions weren’t a come-on, and I found the rest of him appealing too. He had an enthusiastic infectiousness, wanting to share his appreciation for the arts, and no doubt would’ve acted the same if I’d been a guy or a geriatric in a wheelchair. READ THE REST ON eatsleepwrite.net/labyrinth
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 12:56:51 +0000
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