Tenderloin by Joy Sorman
Author:Joy Sorman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Restless Books
Culotte starts pissing noisily, the stream of urine splatters on Pim and interrupts his musings. Heâs on his hands and knees in the straw, still beneath the animal who with a silent, restrained kick gets rid of the intruder. Pim rolls onto his side, stands up, then the cow turns her head toward the butcher and watches him. Charcoal eyes, deep circles beneath, and eyelashes long as feathers.
Pimâs never looked a cow in the eyes. He only knows the closed, pallid eyelids of a calfâs head, its pupils frozen. He only knows cows in herds. Youâll often spot them when driving down a country road. Grazing in a field, they turn toward you with their heavy heads and donât look away until youâve vanished beyond the horizon. They always wait until you exit their field of vision before resuming the course of their ruminating lives.
Pim steps to the side, Culotteâs eyes follow the movement, her massive, gleaming pupils fixed on Pimâs like poisoned darts.
The breeder said it, you need to take the time to watch the animals, observe them, to learn of course but also for the pleasure, and the strangeness.
But this morning in the stable Pimâs not watching the cow, itâs the opposite. Heâs being watched, she has the upper hand, sheâs taken the power, and the motionless creature doesnât relent, she doesnât blink. Pim pivots slowly so heâs opposite the cow, his back to the trough; now theyâre face to face. Intimidated and confused, he looks down then back up hoping the animalâs moved on to something else, that sheâs found a new obsession, a new target, but their eyes meet again and itâs a mix of surprise and unease.
Youâve got the one-up girl, you know Iâm new here, you wanna test me is that it? Culotte remains silent, her nostrils quiver from the sustained effort of breathing, but nothing else moves. Tiny fluffy clouds float out of her gleaming muzzle; Pim matches the rhythm of his breathing to hers. If this is a duel Pimâs victory is far from certain.
He closes his eyes, inhales, and focuses; he clenches his fists, sets his jaw, he becomes the sorcerer, the shaman, summons the animal spirits, he digs deep and imagines himself a cow. He mobilizes their shared DNA, his stomach curves and swells, his nose grows moist and puffy, his face flattens, his skin grows a short-haired coat, horns emerge, piercing through the skin on his forehead, his ears enlarge, Pim falls to all fours. The metamorphosis only lasts a moment and Pim regains human form when he reopens his eyes, the enigma of the cow still unsolved, as his epiphany fades.
The duel resumes, Pim tenses, his limbs stiff, but he doesnât dare move again. Culotte, inscrutable, maintains the pressure of her bottomless gaze. Hypotheses are whirling inside Pimâs head, a thousand questions heating up his temples, while Culotte reads his mind. Culotte knows everything, sees everything. Cows have panoramic vision, or almost. Nothing gets by them, they know the earth is round, and you canât surprise them, theyâll see you coming.
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