Essential – Tales from the mind of Kristian

This story was inspired by the following word prompts:

Today’s things are: space camp, toad, smell

The Aesthetical Effete

He thought of himself as a man of considerably advanced tastes. He was an aesthete, a lover of fine art and beauty. Other’s considered him as an Effete, overly affected and weak. He knew perfectly well what some people thought of him. He rather liked to exaggerate his natural manner just because he knew it irked them all the more. He lived in a world full of beautiful objects. He had a Faberge egg in his bedroom, which he called a boudoir. It wasn’t one of the really nice ones, with rubies, sapphires and diamonds, but it was still a beautiful egg.

Appreciation of beauty was ingrained in him. It was an essential part of his nature. His Mother, a beautiful creature who looked so much like a Greek statue of Aphrodite that she had never been without a horde of lovers, had taught him from the cradle of the importance of beauty.

Of course beauty wasn’t just about feasting the eyes alone; the other senses had to be equally stimulated. Around his house he kept bottles of scent, Chanel, Givenchy, Elizabeth Taylor. What an Icon that woman was, the epitome of glamour and beauty, she even created one of his favourite perfumes of all, he adored the smell.

Spraying himself all over with ‘Passion’ by Elizabeth Taylor, he was ready to face the world.

The Cab pulled up outside the apartment block and a man in a purple suit with an orange scarf got it.

“Take me to Foyle’s my good man” he said.

The driver quickly wound his window down to let in some fresh air.
Despite the usual traffic issues in London, it wasn’t long before the Cab pulled up at Charing Cross outside Foyle’s.

“Thank you, keep the change” Said the fancy fellow handing over a twenty pound note.

The man then strode purposefully into the building. People stared a bit, but he was not only used to it, he rather revelled in it. Even in London, a place full of odd characters and amazing diversity, he still had what it took to stand out from the crowd.

He walked up to the front counter and spoke to the rather ugly lady behind the front desk.

“I have come for my book that you kindly put by for me” he said, trying not to look at the Sales assistant too much. She reminded him of a toad. Really with today’s marvellous range of make-ups and the talented hair-stylists, there really was no excuse for appearing in public in such a disgraceful state.

“I have a copy of the Space Camp by Robert Aldrin. Is that the one?” She responded.

“No I should say not. I detest Science Fiction with a passion. No mine was a book called ‘Aesthetics for the modern age’; I can’t remember the author’s name”

“Oh yes, here we are. We had trouble with its classification. We’ve put it under miscellaneous. You know, you’re the first customer to ask for that book” The sales assistant said, handing over a large coffee table book with a bright pink cover.

“You don’t say? Well I’m sure now I’ve bought one they’ll be a rush. Ta ta” He handed over the money and grasping the large pink book, made a speedy departure.

He hoped it would generate a rush as he’d written the book himself.

He’d been disappointed that it hadn’t become an instant bestseller but after all, the world was full of philistines.

The End

Tag: Essential

A multiple Word prompt story – The Aesthetical Effete