BOOM! BANG! STOMP! THUD! Sounds, vibrations, and feelings surrounded and engulfed me. I looked out to the crowd and I felt the adrenaline rush that I feel every time I am worn on the big stages. We traveled such a long way to get to this show but the energy of the crowd and the amazing sound system made it totally worth it. My soles were stomping all over the place and my strings flew all over the place every time my owner slung her foot around in the air. I’m so glad that my owner chose to wear me today. She spent 20 minutes debating whether to wear me, Doc, or Adi to the show tonight. I looked up at my owner to see her belting the bridge of the only upbeat song on her album, “Bags”. Right as she finished the song the audience started to chant her name, “CLAIRE! CLAIRE! CLAIRE! CLAIRE!” I couldn't see the back of the stadium from the stage, but I was sure that the fans in the back were chanting too. I looked over to my best buddy, Van who was worn by Claire’s drummer and I could hear the squeaks that he was making when his owner jumped up and down on the stage. We walked off stage for a couple of seconds and a drop of water fell on my laces. I looked up and saw Claire drinking a cup of water which she did every single show. The lights in the stadium dimmed very slowly and I could sense the feeling of the stadium becoming dim. The audience stopped chanting and talking all together. The sudden movement of my owner sitting down took me by surprise. I knew that Claire was about to perform the song that's closest to her heart, “I Wouldn’t Ask You.” Claire obviously doesn't talk to me directly, and if she did I would be kind of worried because she would just be talking to a shoe but I was there when she was writing this song. It’s about her arthritis which has caused her a lot of pain in her life. I used to have a pair of inserts that I was best friends with but when the doctor diagnosed Claire, she had to replace those inserts with these special prescribed ones. They kind of keep to themselves which is lonely because now I don’t have anyone to talk to when I'm not with Claire’s other pairs of shoes. Every time she sings this song, sudden movements happen inside of me as a result of her wiggling toes. The first lyrics of the song came out of Claire's mouth and the crowd released a sudden sigh because Claire had started to cry on stage. This is something that doesn't happen often but the energy and emotions of the audience were so strong that I knew they got to her. “Ask about my life, still in the nose bleeds” was chanted by the audience. I couldn't hear Claire anymore which was very strange because she never stops singing during shows. The weight of Claire’s legs that were relying on me suddenly went away and I became very concerned. The first screech came from behind Claire and it was followed by many others in the audience and on the stage. The vibrations of all of the others' shoes rapidly moving towards Claire became too much and I had to know what was going on. I frantically looked around and I could see concerned looks on everyone's faces. We were lifted to a table-like thing and wind started to brush past me and I could see us moving off the stage very quickly. The next thing I knew, Claire and I were on an ambulance which was recognizable because Claire had to be in one once before because of her arthritis. I thought everything was taken care of, I thought she wouldn't have to do this again, I thought that she was okay. I searched my mind for anything that could have caused her to be sick. I went back through our daily routine and everything seemed normal except for one small thing. The cup of water. There was a small little tablet in the bottom of her cup of water that she had during the show. It had completely slipped my mind because I thought it was a flavoring tablet. Claire doesn't like fruit water though. As soon as I started to think about the possibility of poison, a loud beep strained my ears. Doctors and nurses stood up from their bench and before I could even observe what they were doing next, I was flung into the air like I had never been before. Her toes were wiggling like they usually do when she jumps up and down. I couldn't comprehend what was happening. Claire's legs continue to jolt up and down like nobody's business. I kind of enjoyed the ride until I heard the nurse say, she's gone. 

1 week later

Life is very very lonely without Claire. Doc, Adi, and I were transported to the closet of her mother and have been sitting there for a week. The closet is dark and dingy and there are sweaters draped over top of us. One day this week, a very strange thing happened. It started to rain inside. Well at least that's what it felt like. Claire's sister picked us all up and pulled us close to her chest while she cried and cried. It has been a very depressing week. Adi said that she heard something about us being sold to one of Claire's biggest fans. No feet will ever wiggle the same inside of me as Claires did. I will miss her forever. We all overheard her parents discussing her death. They say that the doctors aren’t sure why she passed. I still have that idea in the back of my mind but I haven't mentioned it to Doc or Adi yet. I need more information, I need to know why Claire will never wear me again. 

2 weeks later

It's been a crazy week. It's getting very boring in this closet. The only time we get to leave is when we are taken out to get cried on by different members of Claire’s family. The only way we know what time it is is when we see the light through the little crack underneath the door. We hear Claire’s beautiful music playing throughout the house daily which makes all of her shoes pretty sad because we will never be able to experience her performing those songs live ever again. We know that we are being sold today because we heard Claire’s dad on the phone with a fan that was willing to buy us for $5,000 each which was very surprising. I guess some other people care for Claire just as much as we do. I hope that the buyer will wear us and dance to Claire’s music with us on their feet. Just as I was about to tell Doc and Adi my aspirations about the buyer, the door to the closet opened and we were scooped up by Claire’s dad. He threw us into a bag and walked us outside. This was the first time that I had felt fresh air on my face in what feels like an eternity. We were thrown into what feels like the backseat of a car. The acceleration of the car brought me by surprise and I looked at Adi’s beautiful laces and pearly white tips and said, “Wow Geoff must be very ready to get rid of us.” She said that she was ready to be worn again and that she didn't care about Geoff. Claire’s dad played Claire's album, Immunity, from start to finish, and right as “I Wouldn’t Ask You” ended, the car stopped. Geoff picked up the bag that we were in and carried us a short distance and rang the doorbell. We all heard the door open as fast as it could and the buyer said, “Oh wow I can’t believe I am in the presence of Geoff Cottrill right now.” We assumed that he took a picture of Geoff by the sound we heard his phone make. We were handed to the buyer after the exchange of money and as soon as we got in the house, the buyer opened the zipper to the bag. Our first look at the buyer was not particularly a good one. He was a lot older than I thought he would be. His house smelled of old pizza and fried computers. He pulled Doc out of the bag first and he did a very strange thing. He introduced himself to us. He said, “Hi my name is Derick Munley.” I’ve never had anyone talk directly to me before, it was strange and I knew right away that he was a weirdo. He then pulled me out of the bag and his stench hit me even harder than when I was in the bag. I decided to look around his house and what I witnessed was very concerning. There were pictures of Claire on every inch of every wall of his house. I even spotted myself in quite a few pictures. He had signed letters, merchandise, and even one of her microphones that she sang with in a show. There was a tv in the middle of the living room that was playing her song, “B.O.M.D” which stood for boy of my dreams. He was obsessed. He placed me in a clear box on his lavender dresser, which was Claire’s favorite color. I also thought back to when her dad dropped us off at our house. Claire never talked about her family due to confidentiality issues and sure enough never told anyone her fathers name. How did this man know so much about Claire? I surveyed my surroundings and when I looked to my left, I knew there was something wrong. I decided that I needed to get all of us out of here but I had no idea how I was going to do it. The man was picking up Ali and kissing her which enraged me. I looked to my left again to make sure I saw them right. Sitting on the lavender dresser, were the same tablets I saw in Claire's drink at the show...