High Arch

When you leave a wet imprint of your foot on stone, you see two islands — the heel, the ball. Between them: nothing. The midfoot hovers. The arch stands so high that the middle no longer touches the ground. Your weight rests on two narrow points, and the rest of the foot keeps its distance from what lies beneath you.

Medically, this is called Pes cavus. Often a neurological cause is sought, sometimes a familial predisposition, sometimes the cause remains open. The foot is fitted with insoles, padded, corrected, so that it carries better. All of that has its justification. It answers the question of what to do — but not the question of what this foot is telling.