Shoe story

You know those nightmare one has of going to school without shoes? And then in the assembly you realise that you are standing in just your white socks or bare feet and everyone around is either staring or making fun of you. 

Well today was one such day when that dream kind of came true. I had this laced up formal pure black leather shoe with leather sole which I had purchased a decade or so back. They at that time were the most comfortable formal shoe I had ever worn. So even when the leather sole gave away I got it resoled with a rubber sole. The shoes were honorably retired from active duty and transferred from Lucknow and stored away in my cupboard in Jammu. 

So after all those years I thought I would take the treasured shoes out and wear them to college for everyone to admire. I left early in the morning and had stopped on the way to Rajouri from Jammu at a water front near Nowshera. Went down to the river to admire the view, with the mist, the pine trees, the gurgling water and all. As it has been raining everything was damp and wet. Anyway after I had my fill of the view I reached the hospital. On the way up to the department I could feel something different with the shoes while walking. To my horrors of horror I could see both the soles of my shoes coming apart! Literally in huge chunks of black plastic/rubber 😦 I changed my steps and slowly trudged upto my chamber somehow. I shut myself in my chamber and planned to leave my seat only once at the end of the day lest my shoes came apart! After a bit I couldn't take it anymore and thought it would be better to leave early, that way no one would seem me coming apart at the seams! I gingerly walked in the corridors and down the stairs, making sure my feet were never more than a few inches above the floor. Unfortunately my car was parked deep inside the parking lot and I had to trudge through wet groud and mud. I could literally feel the mud and the water was seeping through the groud into my socks. With every step I prayed that I should get to the car with my shoes as well as honour intact.

I stormed out of the hospital in my car and couldn't find a parking space near my accommodation. Had to walk a bit in the rain to reach back to my place after parking the car but then I was too furious to care about the water running on the road and soaking my feet!

The shoes had an abrupt exit and end. They were disposed of into the garbage bin the minute I opened the front gate of my flat.

A bitter end after more than a decade of glorious service!