descent

Super ego: Is she mad?

Alter ego: I don't like that terminology.

Super ego: She says it's only a cough.

Ego: It is a cough.

Alter ego: There's a bug going round.

Super ego: But she's just been away skiing, some poncy place.

Alter ego: I imagine they have bugs in poncy places, too.

Super ego: Have you read her blog, recently? I mean, who is writing it?

Alter ego: What do you mean? She is, of course.

Super ego: There are cats, mice, birds - even a flea has featured in one of them. I tell you, she's deteriorating fast. It'll be the wee men in white coats soon.

Ego: This is experimental writing, stream of consciousness stuff.

Super ego: I spoke to someone who said that perhaps she's writing a meta blog.

Alter ego: Who was it, Paul de Man, who said that all literature is metafiction since all literaterary works are concerned with language and literature itself?

Super ego: Oh, don't get all intellectual on me. Seriously, I am worried about her.

Ego: I'm not mad. Perhaps it's the cough medicine I'm taking. It's strong stuff.

Super ego: I think she should see a trickcyclist.

Alter ego: Trickcyclist? I haven't heard that word since I watched Jewel in the Crown.

Super ego: Okay, shrink then. Is that acceptable?

Ego: But there's nothing wrong with me, except that I'm recovering from a nasty cough and still can't talk much.

Alter ego: I don't find the word 'shrink' offensive. But is she exhibiting strange behaviours?

Super ego: Depends what you mean by 'strange'. She's not going outside naked or being disinhibited in other ways. Nothing like that.

Alter ego: Well, then, what is she doing that worries you?

Super ego: She hasn't done any housework for ages, for a start. Have you seen her flat? It needs a thorough clean.

Alter ego: I wouldn't want my mental health to be judged by the state of my home. When you've got a bug, you're not going to be rushing around dusting.

Super ego: Even so.... You should read her blog. You'd know what I mean. All those crazy conversations amongst animals. She's meant to be a serious writer.

Ego: I am a serious writer. I'm finishing editing my novel.

Alter ego: Just because she's writing blogs in different voices, about different characters, doesn't mean she's not committed to finishing her book. Normally she's rushing around: swimming, Zumba dancing, seeing friends. If she can't do any of this stuff at the moment, that energy has to go somewhere apart from coughing.

Ego: Thank you. You do understand.

Super ego: Oh, you're there. We didn't see you. How are you? Any better?

Ego: Yeass. And youuuuu? How are youuuuu?