My Fear of Feet

Podophobia. It doesn't make sense, doesn't seem like it should be real. It's the fear of feet. Those sweaty, five-toed, fungi-ridden appendages just give me the shivers. I don't have a rational reason for the fear; however, it's not completely baseless. When I was six years old, and my sister was eight, I can remember us playing together in the living room, not a care in the world. I already had reason to be wary of my sister--she had always been the bane of my existence (or so my six-year-old mind thought). She constantly terrorized me just for the fun of it. Of course, my mom never saw what she did, only what I did in retaliation.

This particular occasion was no different. We were playing in the living room, my mother busy in the kitchen, when my sister decided it would be funny to shove her feet in my face. She peeled her socks off when I wasn't looking, and when I turned around to grab a Barbie, her wrinkly, smelly tootsies were smack in my face. Literally. She had underestimated and my face ran into her feet. I screeched and immediately recoiled, then sprinted to the kitchen (still screaming, to my mom's dismay and my sister's delight) and scrubbed my face in the sink. My mom was utterly befuddled by the situation, but my sister was elated and was rolling on the floor laughing (at least that's what I thought; my face was shoved deep into our kitchen sink at the time, so I relied on my ears and best judgment).

Once I felt I had been adequately decontaminated, I snatched up the towel and scrubbed my face some more. I then turned to my sister with fire in my eyes and made a beeline back to the living room. My mom caught me around the midsection before I could get anywhere, and sent both of us to our rooms. Both of us! As if I'd done anything wrong! I was furious, and at the same time I was completely disgusted. Never again will I look at feet as a normal entity. My feet are the only ones that should ever be near me. And don't even get me started on bare feet. Socked feet I can deal with, but bare feet? Try again later. I don't believe my sister recalls this particular incident, but she and the rest of my family frequently taunt me with my irrational fear. However, I have some vengeance of my own: my sister's irrational fear of people touching her neck.