Shoes Left Lonely

They lie next to the nightstand as though they are waiting for her to return. One of them points an expectant toe at the bedroom door. The other is upturned, loose laces draped over its side. They were no doubt tossed there by careless, weary feet who took it for granted they would don them again. A new pair of shoes enters the room and the feet within them pause to gaze sullenly on this hapless duo in the middle of the floor with their own feet conspicuously absent. His entrance feels intrusive to the wearer of the new shoes. The room is so fresh, so haphazard, so lived-in. At any moment it seems that she should trot through the door and slip on these shoes. But, she will not and this room must be emptied for someone who will. He begins at one end and works his way through, boxing up books, folding up clothes. And the shoes just look on; they watch every move. They do not change, because they cannot know. It takes less time than he anticipated to pack up her life and when the task is complete he feels exhausted- not in his body, but somewhere deep in his soul. He kneels down next to the shoes, the only two remaining objects still unboxed. They are so arbitrary, he thinks, yet so poignantly indicative of the way that he feels, for he, too, continues to exists now just the way she left him; nothing superficial about him has changed. But like the shoes he is empty; what once filled him is gone. He hesitates and sits simply breathing and watching the shoes. For a moment he considers leaving them there. To move them seems so final. To pack them away is to remove all of her from the room and to admit forever that she will not be coming back for them. He tips the fallen shoe so that it sits upright. He ties both shoe laces in neat, symmetrical bows. He lingers over them and clenches his jaw, fighting tears. Finally, he picks them up together and sets them in the top of an open box. They no longer look lonesome, he thinks as he lifts the box to carry it downstairs. They look prepared to move on- to wait for someone new.*