egg
An egg is a fragile oval sanctuary concealing the promise of something undefinable: pure protein. Hailed as the cure-all of the culinary world and crowned sovereign of breakfast, it teeters on the brink of chaos at the slightest mishandling. It spends its refrigerated days counting down to its deadline, then signals its defiance with an olfactory explosion of decay. On the frying pan it becomes a capricious artist, yet before the whisk it turns obediently malleable. Everyone insists it is a simple ingredient, nonetheless devoting a lifetime to the perilous art of cracking it just right.