hives

How often do you get to watch your face transform itself before your eyes?

I have an allergy to shrimp. It makes me break out in hives all over my face and body. Once or twice a year, I forget, and order something with shrimp in it, as I did at the Sunflower Vietnamese Cafe, 16th and Mission in SF last night.

It begins with a prickling at the base of my tongue. Then heat under my skin. I can feel the bumps rise and swell, change the shape of my face. Unfortunately, it's always happened in restaurants, so I can't watch the whole process in a mirror. Captured up close, it would be an incredibly compelling piece of performance art. I just sit there, breathe deeply, think "I can't believe I forgot again!" and try desperately not to scratch.

When I do get to a mirror, I'm riveted by this new face - all its contours and surfaces totally unfamiliar. Something made out of red plasticene lumps, with eyes, nose and mouth stuck on as afterthoughts, pushed into the mass of angrily glowing eruptions.

It's like the Incredible Hulk transformation - except I go red instead of green, and don't swell up enough to burst my clothes. I'm so fascinated by what's happening in my dermis, what battle is going on in my body, that it almost makes up for the crazy itching. It's amazing to walk down the street in a different face; to meet peoples' eyes and wonder what they see.

By morning it's all gone. I brush my hair and ask the mirror "Where did you go, other face?" Just a slight tingle at the edges of my scalp to remind me of the mysteries under my skin.