Fancy Fairy Shoes

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I found a shoe in the bay today, floating with the tide, undulating gently. It was a fancy shoe only someone really glamorous would wear with its high heel and pink frilly gauzy bits. At first I thought it was a fish, a rainbow trout too close to land or a leatherjacket.

I saw fishermen laughing by the breakwater, wanted to run to them and shout : ‘It’s a little beauty!’ but then I realised it was a shoe, toppled on its side, lost at sea.

I looked around for marks in the grass, for signs of a scuffle or for evidence of a possible passionate encounter in the nearby spinifex but there were no clues. The shoe didn’t give off an air of trouble in any case, it was jaunty as a birthday present, bobbing with the gulls and water tern.

A woman caught me looking, her eyes were glinting. ‘When I was a girl we believed there were mermaids in these waters. They came onto land when the moon was full and wore shoes the colour of the summer flowers.’ She winked and walked off.

Come on, I thought. You can’t expect me to believe that.

A little boy crouched on the water’s edge, pointing. ‘Look, Mummy,’ he cried. ‘A fairy has lost her shoe.’ His mother smiled at me, shrugging her shoulders, but the boy and I exchanged looks and a single nod.

A wind blew across the water, raking it into deep blue strips. The gulls and tern flew off. The shoe drifted, spun, then sank below the water. ‘I think the fairy just got her shoe back,’ I said. The little boy smiled, satisfied that someone else besides he understood and began to skip along the foreshore, contented.

23 thoughts on “Fancy Fairy Shoes”

  1. This is a great read, Selma. Beautiful story.
    Of course, the first thing I thought was someone got tossed off a boat somewhere… but I’m a little on the morbid side. 😉

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  2. TESCO – great to hear from you! I thought the same thing myself. There actually have been a few underworld murders in this neck of the woods. A lot of people are now sleeping with the fishes, if you know what I mean. Alas, it was only a fairy shoe…..

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  3. Well who’s to say there aren’t mermaids in the water? Of course that doesn’t solve the mystery of the shoe since mermaids have no need for them so I’m with the little boy…..a fairy it is.

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  5. I always ask … if someone loses a shoe over the side of a ship or something, why don’t they throw the other one after it? That way, they may both wash ashore together and whoever finds them may get some use out of them.

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  9. I read that you were an amazing writer over at Gypsy’s site..and she was 100% accurate..what a darling post..and I having a thing for shoes loved it!!!!
    Okay, I do have to ask though, where do I find the shoe’s in the picture here?
    May all the mermaids hold us above the water if we should ever fall.

    By the way..last year my son Sullivan had his shoe fall into the chicago river..if ONLY mermaids were in that murkey mess. 🙂

    Looking forward to reading more!
    Sincerely,
    Crustybeef

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  11. So, Ms. Selma, I’m thinking you ought to be hard at work at a compilation of all of your brushes with the Others. Because I would TOTALLY read it, lady!

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  13. GYPSY – It sounds like a new Agatha Christie novel doesn’t it? ‘The Shoe In The Bay.’ Musings about fairies aside, I want to know how that shoes got there!

    GROOVY – poor Glenna, sneakers will definitely ruin her image!

    TRAVELRAT – throwing the other one over is the least they could do. HAhahaha!

    BRITT – I agree. Losing a fabulous shoe is an absolute tragedy. If I were to lose any of my faves I don’t think I’d recover. I’d be in that water in a flash if it meant saving one of my shoes. What was that woman thinking?

    PAISLEY – wouldn’t it be great to see mermaids wearing high heels. I’d love it too!

    MELEAH – I believe too. What is life without a little magic?

    CRUSTYBEEF – thanks so much for visiting. Great to meet you. Your name is making me very hungry. We had an exquisite roast beef dinner on the weekend, the outside of the beef was crusted to perfection. Mmmmm. The picture isn’t the real shoe because as is my wont, I was without a camera, but it is very close to the real one. There could be mermaids in the Chicago River. You just never know! Looking forward to reading your blog.

    BEC – Awwww, thanks so much!

    HEATHER – I do seem to have a few encounters with them, don’t I? I would like to do a compilation of my short stories, most of which haven’t been posted here. I’ll look into it. Thanks for always being so supportive!

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  16. I’m so glad that little boy had you to understand him 🙂

    Maybe she didn’t know which side of the boat she lost the shoe on, and threw the other over the wrong side. Then the two shoes drifted to different beaches…

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  18. I love your keen sense of observation. I love that the shoe made you stop and imagine….and it’s great that others did too. Renews my faith…

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  19. MICHAEL – I hope they like it. What an honour!

    DAOINE – I’m going to find that other shoe if it’s the last thing I do. I like your idea of both shoes being tossed overboard and drifting to different beaches….good starting point for a short story!

    KAREN – yes they do. And why shouldn’t they be fancy? It probably makes dealing with us humans all that more bearable.

    LAURIE – it’s a weird skill I have. The things going on in my head, you wouldn’t believe – it’s like a movie theatre in there. I’ve met a lot of little kids who can just make up a good story at the drop of a hat, that’s why I love hanging out with them. The little boy I included in the story was a character and a sweetheart!

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  23. CREATEMO – hey, you’re Emo Boy, aren’t you? I was checking out your site before and I really like all your backgrounds and stuff. You are very talented. Keep up the good work!

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