LITTLE SHOE

All that was left was one little black shoe. In the other room, I heard mother weeping, for her lost child. The one who left the shiny black shoe without its mate. The weeping shook the walls as if the noise would snatch her missing child out of his hiding place. But no pit or patting came, no missing little boy.

His name was Eric; he was my little brother. What became of brother, I don’t know, but uncle Jeff said wolves took him and would take me too, if I wasn’t good. After that, I became aware of the wolves, like I Eric did before he disappeared. I was next, they told me. Fighting was back was useless, as spat in their faces and ran from them. They seemed to come from everywhere after I enraged them. They would call my house and howl at me. They would creep into my yard and claw at my door as my mother tried to scare them away with threats. She reminded them they already ate Eric, they couldn’t have her only remaining child.

However, they got to me anyway and took me to their lair where they gave me their offerings. I refuse them and hid where they couldn’t reach me. Then I heard it. I heard the crying. It was a high pitch weeping that stopped my ranting and demanded me to listen to it. It was Eric and he was calling my name and begging me to stop this madness. Madness? I wondered what they had to my brother to say that to me. How had they turned him against his own sister? He reached out to me and I saw his tiny claws trying to get to me. I screamed at the top of lungs and all movement ceased. Life drained down to their heavy breaths and grunts, their mouths were wet with drool. That was when I noticed the wariness in their eyes. Was I the last chance for these staving beasts? It seemed so as offered more gifts to me. Why didn’t they eat me? I wondered because it made no sense to me.

I asked Eric wondering if he would even answer me now that he was one of them. He told me, the leader of the pack was my father, and that if they were wolves, so was I. I shook my head in denial, until I looked down and saw my blood stained claws. I howled.

~fin~
BACK