The Red Shoes

The color red fascinates me. Probably because long ago, I had some red shoes. I do not mean orange shoes. I do not mean burgundy shoes. (Some people call burgundy shoes, purple shoes. You know who you are.) I mean bright red, true red, tomato red patent leather shoes. I was all of about 3 or 4 years old when I pranced around in these bright red, mary jane style patent dreams believing that just because I wore them something magical might just happen. They were truly extraordinary shoes. I could see myself in these shoes, they were so shiny. They were hands down the most beautiful shoes I had ever laid eyes on. Of course, I had not laid eyes on much at that age. Plus, I might take this opportune time to mention here that we were what you might call "poor folk". I had a dress made out of a piece of material that looked like blackwatch plaid that I wore with these shoes. When I wore this 'outfit', I felt like a movie star.(Not sure which one.) When I really wanted to 'glam it up', I added a white sweater to this gorgeous ensemble.You get the picture. I was snazzy. Well, days and probably years went by (at the minimum months) and my dress became tighter and my shoes were beginning to hurt. However, I never mentioned this point to Mom. I was going to wear these shoes forever. Each time I put them on, it became more of a challenge as to where I was going to put my toes. I would try squeezing them into a ball. I would scrape the back of my heels off trying to pound my feet into these shoes. Finally, the day came when it just was not going to happen anymore. I screamed my head off. How would I get by in the world without my shoes? Mom tried to console me by telling me that we would look for another pair just like them. Yeah, but when??? I did not have to wait all that long before we went shopping (searching) for another pair. (Probably because I nagged about it day in and day out.) Mom took me to every shoe store she could think of and then some. Upon walking in the door she would inquire 'Do you have red shoes for her?' and would point at me. They would sadly shake their heads but offer up other colors. No, only red would do. At the final store we could find (dig up), they told us they did not have red shoes for me either. They could only offer silver shoes. Mom asked (begged) 'you would like silver, wouldn't you???' I said no. I only wanted red ones!!! Only red! Why no red? They had red once. Was there a shortage on red dye? She finally convinced me to get silver shoes. She used the argument that my sister, Carla, had gotten some shoes of a very similar color for her prom. I said okay but the silver shoes just didn't do it for me. I did wear them but they never had any magic. The magic was gone. The silver shoes were pretty but ordinary. Okay, here comes the happy ending! Many years have passed but now, I have red shoes again. They are exactly the same color as the first ones I had. They are magic too! What is more, now I even have a magic red purse!~Cindy