Smiling as I Fell
I really cannot say why I fell. The sensation of a sudden vacuum inside my ear. And then, for a split second, a popping sound within my eardrum, as though my ear was collapsing inwards, as though the bones were crushed inside the cochlea, creating a rattling noise, and vaguely reminding me of the anatomy of the inner ear. And then a more explosive crack, and at the same time the sound of a woman’s shrill cry, followed by the laughter of light-hearted girls. And then a more triumphant tone, like that of Mozart’s soprano Papagena in The Magic Flute. The sounds spread out through the air, over the buildings of the city like squawking birds. I was terrified, my body petrified like a piece of wood, my limbs seized by rigor mortis. (The Pearl/Yujin Koyama/Amazon)
I really cannot say why I fell. The sensation of a sudden vacuum inside my ear. And then, for a split second, a popping sound within my eardrum, as though my ear was collapsing inwards, as though the bones were crushed inside the cochlea, creating a rattling noise, and vaguely reminding me of the anatomy of the inner ear. And then a more explosive crack, and at the same time the sound of a woman’s shrill cry, followed by the laughter of light-hearted girls. And then a more triumphant tone, like that of Mozart’s soprano Papagena in The Magic Flute. The sounds spread out through the air, over the buildings of the city like squawking birds. I was terrified, my body petrified like a piece of wood, my limbs seized by rigor mortis. (The Pearl/Yujin Koyama/Amazon)