A Short Story about Shoes

I don't really want to talk to much about everything thats going on with coronavirus at the moment. If you're like me you're probably fed up or anxious about the unrelenting media coverage on it. This is a short story I wrote last month on the train from Exeter to Ashford. I've never done creative writing but this was just a bit of fun. Grab a cup of tea and have a read. 

I hope you're all staying safe and looking after yourself, as always, I'm open ears for anyone who wants a rant/chit chat/or anything at all - just drop me a message. 

Sending love, enjoy!

05/03/2020 

Anyone who’s spent a good amount of time in England, and by a good amount I mean at least 10 minutes, knows that it’s not exactly tanning weather. Half past eight in the morning I set off, suitcase and backpack on, coat zipped up and ready to trudge through the torrential rain to the train station. There was only one issue. My shoes. 

Specifically, the Nike Airforce Ones in white that everyone and their dog seem to own, so I guess you could call me a sheep. Judgement in shoe purchase aside, I’ve never really much been into shoes. I follow the trends and styles I like or that are popular at the time and I wear them everyday until their death. And repeat. 

So I set off, 30 seconds into my walk and I realise it’s going to be a 20 minute walk through puddles. Not bigs ones mind you, but at the first puddle I realised that today is probably going to mark the death of these shoes. Cold english rainwater starts soaking into my shoes, reaching my socks and ultimately my feet, feeling as if any warmth I’d ever known was being mercifully taken away from my body by the miserable Great British weather. At this point I’m regrettably thinking about the only other pair of shoes I brought with me, packed neatly into my suitcase, are the high heels I wore to my graduation last year. In no world would I voluntarily go out in heels in this weather so of course the thought of swapping footwear doesn’t really cross my mind. However, the thought of how my current shoe situation could be worse is a privileged  thought that brings me some comfort on this early morning trek. And so I carry on with my soaked-through Airforce Ones. 

With that in mind, this walk through the sky’s waterfall is less about getting wet (it’s only water after all and evidently, could be worse) and more about not letting my now ice cubes for feet put me in a bad mood. Today is one of my best friend’s birthday and I haven’t seen her in months. It’s rare we find people in this world that are worth the six hour trip with wet cold feet. Yes they are cold and wet feet but I am lucky enough to rest assured they will be warm and dry before the day is done. I’m also lucky that I have the ability to walk and travel to see my friends, a fact that I feel many of us take for granted. So I am grateful, to have feet that can carry my through wind and rain and to have friends that make the trip so worthwhile.