HILARY ELFICK

Exposure

 

Liz had her colours done by House of
Fashion - 34 quid for the morning, 60 if you
stayed all day. That was when she realized
she could only wear clear black and white
and red and emerald green and royal blue,
but never more than two at the same time,
and always classically cut in silk or suiting.
She also discovered that the jewellery she
wore should be quite angular and spiky like
her shoes. And then she came in her
designer shorts to Waitangi on the day we
had the downpour and asked the name of
the fat and miserable bird that dripped and
drooped on the old kauri gum tree and I
said it was a kookaburra. So then she forgot
herself and ran out in the drenching rain
and underneath her satin shirt I saw her bra
was beginning to stand out in swirls and
curves and cheeky lace which she suddenly
realized was embossing magnificently its
slinky overlay just at the moment that the
old kookaburra began to laugh, as in laugh.

Roxana-Monica Mîndrican

Hilary Elfick
 

Dezvaluire

Liz isi asortase culorile la Casa de
Moda- 34 de lire dimineata, 60 daca
stateai toata ziua. Atunci a inteles
ca poate purta doar negru transparent, alb,
rosu, verde smarald si albastru regal,
dar niciodata mai mult de doua in acelasi timp,
si intotdeauna croieli clasice din matase sau costume.
A mai aflat ca bijuteriile sale
ar trebui sa fie unghiulare si ascutite ca si
pantofii. Apoi a sosit la Waitangi in pantalonasii ei de firma
in acea zi cu ploaie torentiala si a-ntrebat
de acea pasare nefericita ce se prelingea
si atarna in batranul eucalipt, iar eu
am spus ca este o kookaburra.* Atunci
fara sa ezite a alergat in ploaie
si pe sub bluza-i de satin am vazut cum sutienul ei
incepea sa se ridice in spirale si
curbe si dantela obraznica de care brusc si-a dat seama
ca-i impodobeste* atat de minunat
trupu-i serpuitor*, chiar in clipa in care
batrana kookaburra a inceput sa rada strident.

*Kookaburras (genus Dacelo)= a species of birds; they are large to very large (total length 28-42 cm/11-17 in) terrestrial kingfishers native to Australia and New Guinea.
Kookaburras are best known for their unmistakable call, which is uncannily like loud, echoing human laughter.

*“embossing” in the original text- this could mean either to gofer/wafer, or to adorn, therefore I chose “impodobeste”( adorns) because it focuses on the idea of precious beauty and it is in agreement with the adverbe “magnificently” (‘minunat’- in my translation)

*“slinky overlay”- “trupui serpuitor”(slinky/wavy body); I interpreted “overlay” (layer/shell/sheet) as a metaphor standing for the human body