It was a cold stormy autumn night, where the winds roared like lions in the sky. The claps of thunder were echoed throughout the clouds and the small bits of rain were tickling my jacket and the small portions of my face. I ran into the shelter of the mall seeking refuge inside the warm building. “All this for a new pairs of shoes” I thought. My brown lace-ups were now battered and worn out. What once was supposed to be smoothed leather now appeared to be mangled fur on a dog’s tail. The ends of the laces had lost their aglets and as a result were now afraid to fray. I could feel my toes ripping out of the tip of my shoe screaming “Please!!! Please!!! I MUST BE FREE!!! PLEASE!!!” The scuffs and stains had all but destroyed the logo on the side of the shoes, there was nothing left but a white circle that was now a shadow of what it used to be, a shining star of blue that was doomed to fade to white. “Why have I tolerated this torment for so long?!” I screamed. Was it a matter of pride? Finances? Time? Attachment? Yes, that must have been it. My dear shoes I did love you once, but now, oh, how you have changed. There was a time when I believed you brought me comfort and support for my soul but now I see that I was wrong about you, for now you only provide me with blisters and falls. Oh, how I loved you when I first saw you; pristine, dignified, and 50% off. Oh the humanity! What happened to you my once delicate and beloved darlings! Had the demands of life become so great that you could not bear the weight? Had you sunk so low to the floor that you felt abused? Please let me know how it was that you were transformed so that the cobbler that made you would be disgraced of his work if he were to see you now! Please! Oh! Please! Let me help you! But there was no answer from my once beautiful darlings. No sign of life or joy in my leather socks. I took them off into my hands and saw as the shoelaces fell to the side as they swung back and forth. There was nothing more I could do but watch as my shoes folded into my fingers and deformed into fallen cloth. I cascaded my finger along the rough trails of leather as I felt the many tears and the warn patches that were now soft yarn. I felt the plastic rim at the shoes sole and filled the empty space with my finger where the shoe and the rim were once joined. The small bits of jagged plastic slightly scratched me as I felt the bottom of the shoe. Why did it have to come to this? Did I neglect my shoes so entirely that they had to succumb to such a violent death? Could I have not taken my pride and cast it away so that I could have mitigated my shoes pain by forcing it upon a new pair that was younger and stronger? For they were too old…why did I push them? Oh shoes! Please! Forgive me! I am sorry that I was never so noble to consider your own feelings and struggles! To be grinded against the fouls of life day after day and to be cursed with the fragrance of my smelly feet! Oh how much you must have suffered my wonderful shoes! Oh why! But now the time has come. We cannot stare at battered shoes when there are steps to the future we must take; because then our feet will hurt without new shoes. It is now time for us to depart and go our separate ways darling shoes. I thank you for your service. My dear shoes I give you the highest of burials…the mall trash bin. I continued to the shoe emporium in the mall with my head in a slump. My eyes staring down at my now dirtied socks. A little girl came up to me and when I looked up to see her she asked me a question. “Where are your shoes mister?” I began crying and sobbing like a child and ran away just to end this nightmare. My loss proved too be a reoccurring pain, a hole was in my heart and there seemed to be no way to fill it. Were there some new shoes that could treat me as good as my brown-lace ups…I had to hope for half as much. When I arrived at the emporium I gazed around at the shoes displayed on the walls. There were shoes of Velcro, laces, and even sandals. And while there were shoes that were of high class and high prices I simply made my way to the bargain section. Along I walked down the aisle and there, I saw them. Black, soft, red outlines, amazing form and structure, and the laces, how sleek and powerful they were. “You are mine now you beautiful specimens of footwear.” I took them and kindly asked the cashier to ring them up for me. Before she could offer me a bag I already had them on and was out the door. The walk I took was the best one I had had in months. The ground was not rising up against my feet and I floated like an angel skating on clouds. My grace and posture was unmatched. My shoes…were amazing! I walked out into the stormy world without a care in a world. My head was held high and I never looked to the ground because I knew how well my shoes were fairing. But…in a quick moment it seemed I had lost my balance as my right leg suddenly lunged forward tried to react but it was too late! The puddle had already consumed half my leg.