Face-to-Face

Selena was born with hair down to her elbows, which her father considered a sign of intelligence, and her mother a dangerous omen. Her hair grew rather fast too, and in fact, she had to get a hair-cut every week just to maintain the same length. She would wear it in a braid that reached the small of her back, fastened at the bottom by a ribbon of a different color every day. As a child, Selena was known for her long hair and her tendency to ask far too many questions. Her mother believed the reason for her robust head of hair was her intrusive curiosity, and that her brain couldn’t contain her inquisitive nature so it had to find a release some other way. When Selena would begin her incessant prying, which was often, her mother would shout “get out of that floating head of yours Selena, one more question and I’ll bring you back down to earth by your braid!” This never stopped Selena though, who would just hold on tightly to her braid as she continued to ask questions.

“When we peel a fruit, are we undressing it or removing its skin?”

“Is it possible to run out of tears?”

“Are fingernails a remnant of claws or scales?”

“Does taste happen in the mouth or in the brain?”

“Are we the only animals that have a concentration of hair on our heads?”

“Could we ever switch the use of our hands and feet so we may dance on our hands and eat with our feet?”

“Why is a matador’s muleta always a bright scarlet silk when in fact raging bulls are color blind to red?

The questions would go on incessantly, and exasperation would fill up inside Selena’s mother like a bucket left outside on a rainy day.

One morning, Selena woke up with more questions than usual, except this time it was no longer just her questions that were moving around inside of her head, but everyone else’s questions too. She could hear the curious thoughts of her siblings, her dog, her neighbors, the kids on the street riding their bicycles, the mothers going for a walk with their babies in strollers and their babies’ questions too, the news reporter on the television, her father and her surprisingly very nosey mother. She ran to the backyard where her family was having breakfast on the veranda, and began expelling all the questions she was hearing. “That’s it Selena I’ve had enough of this nonsense” barked her mother. She got up in a furry and flounced towards her daughter. To this day, no one can really explain what happened next, even Selena’s father and siblings still don’t believe their own eyes on the matter. No sooner did Selena’s mother reach her babbling daughter did the latter start floating up into the air, as if fueled by the fervent questions pouring out of her mouth. Selena’s mother watched her daughter hot air balloon into the sky, inverted and upwards, and quickly grabbed onto her braid in a desperate plea to gravity. The pull was too strong and Selena’s mother was swept off her feet, holding onto the braid for dear life while Selena still furiously asked questions as if completely oblivious to their current state. The two floated over the roof and above the tallest trees in the garden, until it was just the two of them in the quiet of the blue sky. From way up there, Selena could no longer hear anyone else’s questions other than her own and her mother’s.