The first thing Kate gave up was carbs. She swapped spaghetti
for courgetti and tried unsuccessfully to make pizza without dough. When her
daughter made muffins at school Kate showed her The Truth About Sugar on YouTube then chucked them in the bin.
Meat came next. Sunday dinners became a thing of the past and
the mere suggestion of a burger provoked a shudder of disgust from Kate. Her
husband started taking the children for walks after tea and Big Frank at the
chip shop was happy to oblige, double wrapping cod suppers for them to eat in
the park.
Dumping lattes for ‘Americano, no milk’ signalled the end of
dairy and the fridge was purged of eggs. The kids rebelled and refused to eat
the crispy kale that was no substitute for Walkers cheese and onion and made
them both targets of ridicule at school.
Alcohol was the last to go. Kate struggled to accept that
anything as reviving as her evening pinot grigio could be seriously bad for
her.
‘You’ll fade away,’ said her mother, secretly wondering if a
change of diet might do the same for her cheekbones as it had for Kate’s. Her
reluctance to attempt to pronounce ‘quinoa’ in Aldi and her love of millionaire’s
shortbread soon put paid to that.
By Easter (no chocolate, the children got grapes) Kate was colour
coding her food. A traffic light diet of plant based, guilt free, clean-eating
meals.
Green for breakfast, a smoothie of cucumber, spinach and
kale. It tasted disgusting, a sure sign thought Kate it was doing her good.
Amber at lunch time; pumpkin soup and carrot sticks and mango lassi made with
almond milk and turmeric. And red in the evening for suppers consisting of
cranberries, tomatoes and plums. Her husband took the children and moved in
with his mother.
As her flesh melted away Kate experienced a lightness of body
and mind she had never previously known. She rejoiced as the outline of her
skeleton became clearly visible through her increasingly translucent skin, no
longer muffled by pillows of muscle and fat.
She stopped going to work; shopping and juicing took up most
of her time. She barely noticed her children were gone.
Before long her bones took on a crystalline quality. Still
solid, but see though and shimmering. Passing the hall mirror one morning she
was amazed to see the reflection of the coat rack that hung on the wall behind
her quite clearly through the reflection of her own face.
Delighted, Kate reconfigured her menu to include only clear
foods; ice cubes and cabbage water, ginger tea and lemon jelly set with agar-agar.
She considered adding vodka but decided against it.
When her mother called round she was sure Kate was out. She
was about to leave when she felt a draught, a stirring of the air in the
apparently empty room.
‘Hi mum’, she heard Kate’s voice. ‘You’ll stay for a glass of
water?’
