There is nothing quite like buying the perfect pair of shoes. Some people feel exalted when they slip into a pair of five-inch stilettos; others drop to their knees at the first scent of brand new Italian leather. Unfortunately, no bliss can last forever, and eventually the idyll that one lives in with their new pair of shoes looses its luster. When this happens, the only extraordinary aspect of the shoes that remains are the memories they hold. Last summer, my best-loved black leather flats took me on a journey.
They say distance makes the heart grow fonder and I can personally relate; my closest friends live thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean in Italy and London. Once a year we meet in the enchanting town of Bellagio, Italy, where we fill ourselves will memories to last until we return again. It was fortunate that my ballet flats were already worn-in by the time we had arrived, or else I may have been reluctant to wear them on the uneven cobblestone streets of Lake Como. Those shoes took me up and down every stairway, alleyway, and town square of our treasured Italian village. I can still remember the sound they made as I ran through the sand to reunite with my best friend after a long winter separated. On a particularly rainy afternoon, the shoes sailed me through the puddles and into a local coffee shop called Bar Sport, where my girls and me spent hours laughing, reveling, and savoring our moments together.
As I look down at my worn leather shoes, I see that their once glossy, lustrous red soles have lost their color. I do not reflect longingly on the days when they were brand new, but I do reminisce on the memories they hold in their fraying stitches. It was not so long ago that my toes were tapping under a table in Italy next to the equally excited feet of my best friends. Every day that I slip my black flats on, I smile and sometimes shed a tear when I recall my adventures in Italy with them. (Of course, it does not hurt that they are handcrafted Italian leather.)
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