Aura

Imagine you’re trying to read something but you can’t see the word you’re looking at. Imagine the momentary confusion until it dawns on you and you look away at a plain surface to confirm it, and you see it: a small jagged squiggle. You swallow a tablet and hope it all goes away. You know it won’t.

Imagine the squiggle coming nearer, clarifying itself into a C shape, flashing like a demented kaleidoscope. The middle of the C is darker and blurrier than outside it. This is the flashing C of doom. It’s my migraine aura.

It came on last night after the Olympics (men’s triathlon) but on the other side and flipped horizontally to form a backwards C. I went to bed.

Today, it was Pilates. I only went because we have to pay in advance now. I told the instructor about my post-parkrun leg stiffness and my migraine. She said to do what I could, and gave me an alternative or two for a couple of exercises. At the end, she gave us the choice of more core or a chill-out. Does anyone ever choose more core?