Saturday, August 26, 2006
The Magic of the Long-Forgotten Shoes
She was four years old again.
The little girl laughed delightedly, her rosy cheeks flushed with excitement and her chocolate brown eyes sparkled and danced. As she twirled and pirouetted around the room, she marveled at the ease and grace the magic shoes lent her. She stopped to gaze at the beauty that lay in the simplicity of the shoes and her smile widened. The pink shoes perfectly matched the pink tulle in her skirt and the satin ribbons that wound themselves around her legs. Then, she leaped as far as her short little legs would allow, knowing that the magic of the shoes would let her go even further.
The dream ended as abruptly as it had come. She found herself on her knees once more, clutching the satin ribbons of the old shoes. Moments ago, she had found them tucked away in a dusty corner of her closet, forgotten and neglected. Still, the shoes seemed to retain vestiges of its magic. She touched the scuffed toes, hardly daring to believe that these were the shoes in her dream. As she touched them, she could hear the first few strains of the violins, its soft sweet velvety melody enveloping her.
Then, impulsively, she slipped her feet into the old shoes, and wound the ribbons around her legs as she had done several times in the past. She remembered the forgotten stories, the secrets the shoes had witnessed, and felt it rushing back through the wrinkles of time, sharp and clear. The shoes lent her its magic again, and soon she was lost in a dream once more.
She felt like the little girl in the dream, relishing the discovery of a new prospect and savoring the irrepressible exhilaration of dancing as the sweet notes of the piano weaved themselves through the air. She found herself dancing again to the tune of a sonata, and felt herself soaring to great heights she could never reach before, until the shoes lent her its magic.
written at 12:46 AM
