They were the dream image of an ear. The quintessence, the paragon of ears. Never had any enlarged part of the human body (genitals included, of course) held such strong attraction for me. They were like some great whirlpool of fate sucking me in.
One astonishingly bold curve cut clear across the picture plane, others curled into delicate filigrees of subtle shadow, while still others traced, like an ancient mural, the legends of a past age. But the supple flesh of the earlobe surpassed them all, transcending all beauty and desire.
....
"For you, I'll show my ears", she said, after finishing her espresso. "But I don't know if it will really be to your benefit. You might end up regretting it."
....
With that, she pulled a black hairband out of her handbag. Holding it between her lips, she pulled her hair back with both hands gave it one full twist, and swiftly tied it back.
"Well?"
I swallowed my breath and gazed at her, transfixed. My mouth went dry. From no part of me could I summon a voice. For an instant, the white plaster wall seemed to ripple. The voices of the other diners and the clinking of their dinnerware grew faint, then once again returned to normal. I heard the sound of waves, recalled the scent of a long-forgotten evening. Yet all this was but a mere fragment of the sensations passing through me in those few hundredths of a second.
"Exquisite", I managed to squeeze out. "I can't believe you're the same human being."
"See what I mean?" she said.
She'd become so beautiful, it defied understanding. Never had I feasted my eyes on such a beauty. Beauty of a variety I'd never imagined existed. As expansive as the entire universe, yet as dense as a glacier. Unabashedly excessive, yet at the same time pared down to an essence. It transcended all concepts within the boundaried of my awareness. She was at one with her ears, gliding down the oblique face of time like a protean beam of light.
"You're extraordinary", I said, after catching my breath.
"I know", she said. "These are my ears in their unblocked state."
Several of the other customers were now turned our way,staring agape at her. The waiter who came over with more espresso couldn't pour properly. Not a soul uttered a word. Only the reels on the tape deck kept slowly spinning.
She retrieved a clove cigarette from her purse and put it to her lips. I hurriedly offered her a light with my lighter.
"I want to sleep with you", she said.
So we slept together.
haruki murakami, a wild sheep chase (vintage, 2003)
One astonishingly bold curve cut clear across the picture plane, others curled into delicate filigrees of subtle shadow, while still others traced, like an ancient mural, the legends of a past age. But the supple flesh of the earlobe surpassed them all, transcending all beauty and desire.
....
"For you, I'll show my ears", she said, after finishing her espresso. "But I don't know if it will really be to your benefit. You might end up regretting it."
....
With that, she pulled a black hairband out of her handbag. Holding it between her lips, she pulled her hair back with both hands gave it one full twist, and swiftly tied it back.
"Well?"
I swallowed my breath and gazed at her, transfixed. My mouth went dry. From no part of me could I summon a voice. For an instant, the white plaster wall seemed to ripple. The voices of the other diners and the clinking of their dinnerware grew faint, then once again returned to normal. I heard the sound of waves, recalled the scent of a long-forgotten evening. Yet all this was but a mere fragment of the sensations passing through me in those few hundredths of a second.
"Exquisite", I managed to squeeze out. "I can't believe you're the same human being."
"See what I mean?" she said.
She'd become so beautiful, it defied understanding. Never had I feasted my eyes on such a beauty. Beauty of a variety I'd never imagined existed. As expansive as the entire universe, yet as dense as a glacier. Unabashedly excessive, yet at the same time pared down to an essence. It transcended all concepts within the boundaried of my awareness. She was at one with her ears, gliding down the oblique face of time like a protean beam of light.
"You're extraordinary", I said, after catching my breath.
"I know", she said. "These are my ears in their unblocked state."
Several of the other customers were now turned our way,staring agape at her. The waiter who came over with more espresso couldn't pour properly. Not a soul uttered a word. Only the reels on the tape deck kept slowly spinning.
She retrieved a clove cigarette from her purse and put it to her lips. I hurriedly offered her a light with my lighter.
"I want to sleep with you", she said.
So we slept together.
haruki murakami, a wild sheep chase (vintage, 2003)
diz ...