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Karen's Shoe

by Hayley Penn

By Hayley PennPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
2

Karen walked around the side of the house to see the small stone path her mother had laid so many years back. She took careful steps on the crumbling rock as she meandered through the empty trees. At the end of the path was an opening to a small local pond, everyone’s favorite summer cool down spot. The crunch in her step let her know the change in seasons was over; winter would be here for a while, and long would it be before she felt a light-hearted warmth again.

The pond was frozen through, so she started to walk out. She thought of all the memories she had here, and calculated how much time had passed since her last visit home. Her parents were gone now, and new families had been in and out of their house for the last seven years. Her last time here must’ve been when they packed up their parents’ belongings, and went through all their childhood toys. Yes, about seven and a half years ago since then. She thought about time, and how strangely it seems to pass. It goes fast, it goes slow, and in the end you’re always trying to process what it was full of. Less kindly, we always jump to thinking what it lacked. She was stuck on this now, what her life had lacked, when she noticed a hot pink flash a couple steps ahead. She paused, startled by its disruption in the earthy palette she had been lost in. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was a tiny plastic doll shoe.

“How fierce!” she said as she marveled at the tiny artsy wonder.

While she stared, she started to notice other rainbow distractions all around her. An entire toy collection was frozen in time. She continued to explore each item, and small memories started to trickle in. Giggling with her mom about naked Barbies; curling and melting another’s hair… these were all her toys. How did they get here? She had thrown them all away when they finished cleaning out the house.

In horror, she began to spot all kinds of trash frozen in the pond. Plastic bottles, beer cans, you know the drill. She sat down on the ice, repulsed by what had happened to a once pleasant community gathering place.

“How can people be this bad?” she thought to herself. Just then, she noticed a small child on the south end of the pond, attempting to break the ice with a baseball bat. She walked over and asked him what he was doing.

“Cleaning the pond,” he replied softly.

He was chipping away at a spot housing an old, currently cold Barbie. She realized she was the problem. When she threw her toys away, they went out of her mind. She had used them and their lives were over to her. They didn’t just go away, though. She headed back to the momentarily empty house and found a spare shovel. Karen returned to the young boy again. She helped him for hours, cleaning up the mess she had made.

She dropped off the toys at an old friend’s house who had several youngsters running amuck. As she drove away, she thought about how one day they would get thrown out again. They would sit in the earth for centuries to come, clogging up the soil and its ability to nurture. She went off on a mental tangent, dreaming of a more sustainable future where less is more, where people cherish what they have, and don’t consume just for the sake of consuming. Where every item has meaning and purpose, and is more easily renewed into something else that matters; something that won’t get thrown away and wasted forever.

She realized it was late in the evening now; a Sunday. She had to head quickly home so she could make lunch for the work day tomorrow. She pulled off at a gas station to fill up and grab a soda. She drank it quickly and felt the caffeine buzz she needed for the long drive ahead. The trash can at the station was full, so she left the bottle on top. Away she went, focusing on the busy week ahead.

Short Story
2

About the Creator

Hayley Penn

Ready to dive into writing and let my creative side walk free. I am currently a middle school math teacher, dreaming of something new and refreshing to fill some of my free moments.

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