Back in the 1980s I went to visit my aunt, it was a nice warm spring day so I put on a white frilly blouse and a flowery skirt and light tan tights. I then slipped on my black three inch stiletto mules and went down stairs, then I realised that I had left my hand bag up stairs on the bed, I went back up stairs and got nearly to the top when I stepped out of my right mule and it fell down the stairs all the way to the bottom. I looked at my feet one mule on and one mule missing and then looked at my other mule lying at the bottom of the stairs.
I then decided to wear my favourite three-inch high black court stilettos in stead and went up the last few steps and into the bedroom wearing just the one mule, I got out my black stilettos and kicked off the mule and slipped on the stilettos. I picked up my hand bag and went down stairs again, I kicked the mule to one side and it went under the table next to the front door, I thought to myself it will be better to wear the court shoes rather than the mules because I didn’t want to loose one on the way to see my aunt who lived on the top floor of a block of flats over looking the river, only a short walk away.
I picked up my handbag and went out locking the door behind me, as I walked along the path it was feeling quit warm for March. I walked through the park and a lot of the flowers were in bloom, the grounds man was cutting the grass, I stopped and sat down on the park bench and slipped off my right shoe and put my bare foot on the dry but cold tarmac path, I thought to myself the path feels nice under my foot, maybe I will leave one shoe off, but my aunt wouldn’t understand if I turned up wearing only one shoe. So I put my shoe back on and stood up, then walked across the road to the block of flats, were my aunt lived on the top floor, it was a typical 1960s block with the main entrance with two lifts and the main stairs next to them, there was a fire door to each side and a corridor with another set of stairs at each end which doubled up as a fire escape.
In the entrance there were some young lads just hanging about. They looked at me as I passed them, but they said nothing, I called the lift and the doors opened so I stepped in, I pushed the button for the top floor and it went up to the top floor, then the doors opened and I stepped out, then walked along to the flat at the end of the corridor and rung the bell. But there was no answer I rang it again but still no answer. I thought to myself I should have phoned first, so I wrote a quick note and pushed it through the letterbox.
I started to walk back to the lift but I tripped, as I did my right shoe came off. I regained my balance and turned around to retrieve my shoe. But to my horror it was not anywhere in sight I felt a cold shiver at the thought of loosing my shoe but also excitement because it had gone, I looked around and then limped over to the rail of the stairs and looked over, there was my shoe at the bottom, it had fallen all six floors and I hoped it was ok and not broken the heel or something. I thought what do I do, I decided to walk along to the lift and go down in it to the ground floor which I did, on the ground floor I then limped along the corridor to the stairs at the end and down to the basement, there was my shoe it looked undamaged but I couldn’t get to it because there was a steel grate across the bottom and my shoe was on the other side.
I just stood there for a few minutes looking for away to retrieve my shoe, but there was no way I could get it, I looked down at my feet with one shoe on and one stocking foot and the thought of going home wearing only one shoe was getting very appealing. I looked again to see if there was a way to get my shoe back, it was then I noticed that there were a few odd shoes in there, also a sandal and a mule, at the back there was a guy’s shoe and a women’s high heeled ankle boot. So I wasn’t the first one to loose a shoe in there, then I noticed a brown mule with a two inch heel it was just like the ones my aunt wears, or she did the last time I was here. After about ten minutes I decided if I’m going back home in one shoe I might as well start walking, I walked back up the stairs and took one last look at my shoe trapped there. I walked on tiptoe with my bare foot and it felt very nice to feel the cold tarmac path under my foot. Just then I saw the young lads and one said to me hey lady looks like you have found the shoe trap and then laughed.
I just smiled at them, then said can you get my shoe back for me and they just said no you look far better wearing only one, and they all walked away laughing. So I was still stuck wearing only one shoe, but I was now enjoying my one shod state. I slowly walked back across the road and into the park, there were a few people there but no one took any notice of me. Finally I got to the other side and I walked up the road back home, I limped up the path and unlocked the door and went in and sat down on a chair, then looked at my stocking foot and it was a bit black on the underside. Then I looked at both feet with one shoe on and one shoe missing and I enjoyed the experience I only wished it was a different pair I had lost one of.
THE END
Story by Karen Dean