The Viae Ferae of Tuscaloosa

The protagonist of China Mieville's story "Reports of Certain Events in London" (also named China Mieville) obsessively looks for evidence of the Viae Ferae, the feral streets that come and go according to their own inscrutable, inhuman designs. Having read the story, I now find myself looking for similar phenomena in Tuscaloosa County. This photo, taken on Kicker Road, just south of Veterans Memorial Parkway, catches a house in the act of disappearing, or of appearing; it's hard to say. All that's visible is a disembodied set of outside steps that once led (or will lead) to the front door.

To snap this photo, I walked from the Subaru the long way around the steps and across Kicker Road to the Shell station across the street. As I returned to the car, I threw caution to the winds and actually walked up the feral steps. I made it back to the car, though. Eventually.