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{"id":1048,"date":"2016-05-18T12:05:00","date_gmt":"2016-05-18T16:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/env-greenfieldcc-dev.kinsta.cloud\/newplum\/?p=1048"},"modified":"2025-02-28T07:52:44","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T12:52:44","slug":"a-shoe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/env-greenfieldcc-dev.kinsta.cloud\/plum\/a-shoe\/","title":{"rendered":"A Shoe"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/small> A shoe hung from the gutter. Caught by its white laces, the shoe didn\u2019t move. It was like a rabbit held by the ears.<\/p>\n

The woman didn\u2019t know how it got onto the roof of her house. It hadn\u2019t been there yesterday. She was sure of it. It certainly wasn\u2019t her shoe, for she would never be so careless.<\/p>\n

She dragged a ladder across the lawn. Torn grass marked her passage. It took her four tries to haul the ladder into place alongside the house. Checking that it was firmly set into the dirt, twice, she began to climb. As she moved further away from the ground, her progress slowed.<\/p>\n

She refused to look down.<\/p>\n

Halfway up, her palms began to sweat. She gripped the bars tighter and left fingerprints each time she let one go for another. The metal was cold.<\/p>\n

She urged herself forward.<\/p>\n

The woman was nearly at the top when a gust of wind pushed against her side. She huddled closer to the ladder, wrapping her arms around it. Above her, the shoe looked flustered.<\/p>\n

Finally, she gripped the last rung, and she pulled herself up to peer over the gutter onto the roof beyond. A boy lay sprawled by the peak. His eyes were closed.<\/p>\n

The woman was flabbergasted. \u201cHey! Boy!\u201d<\/p>\n

He raised his head, squinting lazily at her.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you doing on my roof?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m waiting for the universe to spill its secrets,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn my roof?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour house is the tallest on the street,\u201d he said. \u201cI figure if I\u2019m going to catch any of the drippings, I need to be as close to the sky as I can get.\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman looked\u00a0closer at the boy. He was still a ways from acne and awkward interactions, with gangly limbs waiting to be grown into. Meeting his gaze, she noticed that his eyes hinted at years they should not yet possess.<\/p>\n

She looked away.<\/p>\n

Then she noticed he wore only one shoe. \u201cYou\u2019ve lost a shoe in my gutter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t lose it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

She looked from the boy to the dangling shoe and back.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s there as my anchor,\u201d he told her.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight,\u201d she said. \u201cI think that\u2019s enough of your games. It\u2019s time for you to get off my roof.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I can\u2019t leave now!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou must, and you will,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the universe is rippling. It\u2019s ready to spill at any moment!\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman frowned.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t leave yet. Not yet,\u201d he said. \u201cDon\u2019t you want to know what it has to say?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it would change everything!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t care. Get off my roof right now!\u201d The woman pushed herself higher, hoping to make the boy think she\u2019d fetch him if necessary.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t care?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. I don\u2019t. Because all that you\u2019re saying is foolish nonsense,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s only foolish if you\u2019re not listening to it in the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cListen, boy. I\u2019ve had enough. You\u2019re going to get down, and then you\u2019re going to come with me,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to talk to your parents.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll never understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course they won\u2019t. You\u2019re being an unreasonable child. Now\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d he said. \u201cThey wouldn\u2019t understand why you\u2019re trying to stop me.\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked confused.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome and sit with me.\u201d He patted the roof next to him. \u201cThe universe is about to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, that is enough!\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman moved to climb onto the roof after the boy but slipped and fell to the earth below.<\/p>\n

The universe cried to the boy until the moon rose and the stars flicked on one by one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"