The Fractured Mirror

The Shoe That Fit

Once upon a time, blah blah blah, you know the drill, but this isn't your ordinary "once upon a time". And I bet you'll never guess why. Well you probably won't so I'll just tell you. It would be because I'm your sarcastic, snobby, everyday neighborhood shoe. Well nobody lives around the manor, so it lacks the "neighborhood" part, but you get the point. But you'd never see me anyway, because it'd be rude to dig up a dead, decaying body, am I right? Well that's what I thought.

Earlier today there was a very loud thud coming from above. It sounded like it would if you were an ant and a menacing toddler came and knocked down their building block tower. The repetitive thud became progressively louder and louder to the point where a headache was erupting. A hole breached through the top of the casket blinding me with light and suffocating me with feathers. A flock of birds swooped down. Well not a flock, but a whole lot, actually there were three.

They lifted the body that I have become somewhat attached to, literally. They unlaced the dress and ripped my partner and I off of this ancient lady's foot. They started to hover in the air, levitating more of now. We were finally aloft and the pigeons were carefree, I on the other hand was not okay whatsoever. As a shoe, I'm sure you can relate, you are never off the ground, ever. So this was an immense jump.

We approached the kitchen window, swaying from side to side. I was placed on the sill in such an unorthodox way that I nearly toppled over and shattered. But that's worst case scenario. There  was a young lady in the room, she was disgustingly beautiful and I noticed her eye color as she got all up close and personal. Her thumb started to fumble over me, clumsily twisting and turning me in all different directions. She put me down on the counter and picked up the dress, fracturing and bending light in all different directions.
She carried it into the other room, tripping over her own ankle. She came out looking half her age and twice as beautiful. Ugh, talk about a spoiled brat. She gave it a spin and then smushed me against her sweaty foot. Eww. She started taking rough steps, gaining speed as she walked. She walked outdoors and stopped to the fatal sound of horses neighing and hooves stomping. She was guided up the steps by a man in shiny metallic blue shoes. She sat down and was jerked forward. I hadn't known our destination or how far away we were till the rumbling stopped. She had an unrefined way of stepping up the stairs till she got to the top step.

The ballroom was filled with sparkling chandeliers and marble steps that lay on top of eachother leading to the dance floor where people gilded around in dresses covered in sequins and glitter.  But that's all I could see through the rising and falling of the dress that was taken in without a care in the world. Her name was announced, but came in as a muffled voice from above. She not so gracefully meandered down the stairs through the silence, well silence with the exception of an obnoxious squeak from a violin. She continued to stumble, but everybody was too distracted by her dress to notice.

She approached a man with freshly polished golden shoes with ruffled socks, obviously royalty. They danced the night away, till dawn broke the surface of the horizon. She noticed two ladies that were obviously getting tired and were making an attempt to leave, that's when she started to run. It was on her way down the stairs when it happened.

She made another klutzy step that tripped her. She fell over knocking me off. She continued to run, leaving me all alone on the seventh step of the palace. The young man with the shiny gold shoes approached me. And my story only goes downhill from there.

The following day we went on an expedition, one that I like to call, "Does the Shoe Fit?" We went through the kingdom reaching every single maiden that could possibly live here. And their feet all had something new to offer, whether it be a unique stench, flat feet, or even fat feet, there wasn't a house that we visited that didn't obtain a new experience. And everybody did something to make the shoe fit, because if it did, you'd be rolling in piles of gold my friend. But what I never understood is why this moron is dependant on a shoe, when he spent all night dancing with a girl that was all of three inches shorter than him.

We finally approached the final house, one that I had recognized very well. The two young girls stood in a room, awaiting this royal stooge that was carrying me on a slipper. The sisters and their mother turned around and curtseyed in front of the prince. He handed me to the first sister to try it on. She stepped in another room and shoved her foot into me. It smelled of gorgonzola and rotting apples. It evidently did not fit whatsoever so the sister took a knife from behind her back and sliced off three of her toes. If I could scream and actual people could hear me, trust me, that's all you'd be hearing right now.

She limped out of the room, blood spilling from the crevices in between her foot and myself. She had made it all the way to the princes carriage when it became apparent to everyone that blood was splattered everywhere. The lady was devastated but she passed the knife to her sister and the same thing happened. Only this time her sister cut her heel instead of her toes. Both the girls and their mother were discouraged.

Then that young lady came out again, she had ashes covering her face, making her look a bit like a homeless person. The prince handed her the shoe, and she slipped it on with ease. They let the carriage lead them off to the castle where they would remain for the rest of their lives. And that my friends, is how I ended up here, on the mantle of the grand fireplace. And how I was given the title , "The Shoe that Fit".