Day 192: Iron Boot and Ear Heart

Iron Boot and Heart Ear
by
Matt Zurbo

 

(Boy walking to school.)

(Boy sitting at back of school yard, maybe under a small tree, or on some rocks. Other kids playing.)

Imagine if I my brain was in my foot.
(Boy, holding up one big foot.)

If have to tread very carefully!
(Boy holding leg under thigh, carefully hopping, while other kids run.)
If I didn’t want to get a headache, I’d have to hop!

Sport would be impossible.
(Boy kicking ball, head jotted, clenching teeth.)

Decisions would take longer from down there!
(Boy standing under dump truck, unloading manure. Blank expression. Foot up, with alert symbols coming off it.)

Eventually, I’d have to get an Iron Boot!
(Boy, with BIG, medieval iron boot, looking at girl with tilted head and one big ear, with bit of red flesh in it.)
Then, Imagine If I met a girl who’s heart was in her ear!

She could barely hear me over the thump, thump, thump of her heart!
(Boy, leaning to shout, iron boot holding him back. Girl cupping hand to ear.)
I’d… thump-thump… have… thump-thump… to… thump-thump… talk… thump-thump… to… thump-thump… her… thump-thump… like… thump-thump… this…

But it would pump the blood strait to her head!
(Girl, head tilted inventing amazing things.)
I bet her ideas would be amazing!

Sound would be everything to her. If I wanted to hold her hand, I’d have learn to whisper really softly.
(Boy whispering. Girl taking notes as she is listening to passing bees.)

If aliens came, people would send us to greet them, just in case they were dangerous.
(Boy and girl, Iron Boot and Titled Head, standing outside alien ship.)

The aliens will think we all have brains in our feet and hearts in our ears.
(Aliens greeting them with joy. They have eyes in their hands.)

I would dance for them.
The girl would sing a beautiful, complex, mathematical song!

Imagine if we then met a boy who had wings on his head.
(Boy, poking head out from hiding behind pole.)

And another who rode flying fish!
(As described. Iron Boot, Heart Ear and Winged Head all ducking.)

Then there was the girl with one eye, who could see smells!
(Girl, one eye, leaning forward, looking. Patterns coming off flowers, people, food…)

And the twins that farted thoughts.
(Twins, bums pointing out, farts shaping into creative images, maybe children’s story characters.)

Imagine the crazy conversations we would all have.
(Up to artist. But all kids animated as they talk.)

And how different the playground would be.
(Wing Head playing chasey with Heart Ear who is listening for him. Iron Boot Walking on hands, juggling with feet. Smell Eye fascinated with Fart Twins, Flying Fish on monkey bars as flying fish fly past.)

I like to image things out of the ordinary. Just because!
(Iron Boot and Heart Ear walking past a line of forward facing oddities. Hairy Viking monsters, a Scientists with roses coming out of his head, a happy baby with horns, a girl with a moon for a balloon, a giant covered in band-aides etc…)

Because it’s fun.
(Iron Boot, boot in skateboard, other leg pushing, Heart Ear resting head on pillow she is carrying as they both run, smiling. All the other people and creatures and aliens, to the back, running in their own way, smiling, too. Smell Eye on pogo stick, etc…)

Because it’s brave.
(Boy with two legs but joined with one foot at end, kicking soccer ball.)

Imagine if, sometimes, everybody thought a little different. Just like you and me.
(Iron Boot and Heart Ear walking towards reader. All other kids from playground walking behind them. Every one of them has something different about them. Helicopter invention on head, super tall and skinny. Four hands playing four violins. Teacher wearing see-through vest, Indigenous kid, Dreamtime stories rolling off his head, spots girl bouncing three soccer balls on head, etc…)

Imagine that…
(Boy, normal, on own, walking away.)

 

 

The End