On Becoming A Horse

The Fat Cap mystery and perfect Royal Corona beans

Early in the pandemic I’d taken to jumping on a small personal trampoline for exercise- my nightly rebounding (as the trampoline community refers to it) sessions became somewhat ritualistic: me in all black, a little tipsy, alone in the backyard, listening to the same three songs on repeat, at dusk for about 20-30 minutes. I’m not sure what kind of magic this ritual held, if any, but I noticed that the nightly practice brought on a meditative state where my mind was free to wander into little nooks and crannies producing untouched memories and strange observations. 

On one of these tequila infused evenings, mid-bound, I found myself remembering a story I’d read(?) about a woman who turned into a horse. Or, more accurately, a woman who chose to give up her human body to become a horse. I could only recall a few loose details about the story itself: 

• The woman’s slow change from human to horse inspired both awe and repulsion, particularly when the hooves came in.

• Her roommate, also undergo…