The boy with the hanging shoes

It was looking to be a long bus ride.

I had missed the express and was now stuck on the bus that stopped more frequently. It used to give me headaches, stopping and going and stopping and going (it still does on occasion), but I’ve grown used to the rhythm.

This bus passed many schools and since my days end around the same time as they did... there are usually floods of students that hop on and off.

Luckily, I find myself a seat before the crowding begins.

Now, my mind may be merging multiple memories from my travels and the following description could be a product of that but nevertheless...

There was a boy that was just as lucky to find an empty seat facing my own.

I always found that seating arrangement to be awkward — you don’t really know where to look.

Do you avoid eye contact as much as possible?

Do you keep your head up at eye level?

Is that too weird?

Or is gluing your gaze to the ground weirder?

I don’t know.

I usually keep my head low or focus my eyes elsewhere, but I can’t help but observe.

The boy was obviously a student, he had the naivety and doe eyes to at least play the part, and it was clear he cared for a certain pair of shoes.

They hung from his backpack by their shoelaces and they were nearly a pristine white colour — contesting the fields of snow outside. They seemed so untouched that it gave the impression that he preferred them to be accessories on his backpack rather than actual footwear.

They seemed cared for, however. Loved, maybe?

If he didn’t wear them at all then there would be no point in carrying them around. And what was the sense in keeping them hanging outside your bag — exposed to the elements — if you wanted to keep them clean?

He obviously had his reasons but I couldn’t help but wonder.

Maybe they were a gift. maybe he bought them himself. Maybe they haven’t been worn due to fragility but he still wanted them to see the world...

Or maybe I was thinking too much into it.

They were probably just shoes.

But there was no way they were just shoes to him.

He quickly got off the bus, snow-white shoes swinging back and forth behind him.

- nads;

I guess I’ll never know...