I found them in the back of my closet, buried beneath all the things I never wear
anymore. Old coats, shirts that didn’t fit, and shoes that had outlived their usefulness.
But there they were, tucked away in the corner—my old, worn-out shoes. The ones I
used to wear every day.
They were nothing special—just simple sneakers, the kind that had been with me
through everything. They had seen long walks, long nights, and countless days of
running from something I couldn’t name. The soles were thin from use, the laces frayed from the miles they had covered. They smelled of dust and quiet memories.
I picked them up, turning them over in my hands. The fabric was softer than I
remembered, the soles worn almost thin. They sagged a little, like they’d finally given up the work of holding me up. I had left them there, I suppose, because I didn’t know how to part with them. They had been with me for so long; they felt like a part of me—like a comfort I couldn’t explain. Even when they were no longer being worn, I couldn’t bring myself to throw them away.
But as I sat with them, something shifted. I could feel the weight of the years they had
carried with them, the weight of all the steps I had taken. And I realized something:
sometimes, you don’t have to keep holding something just because it’s familiar. The
shoes had taken me as far as they could. They had done their job.
I set them down on the floor, just for a moment, and looked at them. They weren’t
broken—they were just done. And that was okay. Sometimes, things don’t have to be
fixed to be let go.
I didn’t throw them away right away. Instead, I set them by the door, just in case I
needed to say goodbye. When the time came, I picked them up one last time and
slipped them into the trash. This time, I didn’t look back.
It was strange how light I felt after. As if carrying those shoes—those old, worn-out
pieces of my days—had been holding me back. And for the first time, I could see that
walking forward was easier when I wasn’t dragging anything behind me.
Published In Northword Magazine – Issue 32 – September 2025
The CJBuzz 