Elias reached under the counter and pulled out a box wrapped in rusted wire. Inside were a pair of boots that seemed to swallow the light. They weren't made of leather, but of the shadows of people who had already arrived.
He walked out the door, leaving no footprints in the dust. Elias watched him go, then picked up his needle to start sewing the memories Silas had left behind into a new pair of loafers for a merchant who just wanted to find his way home. places to buy shoes
Silas laced them up. With every knot he tied, a memory of his mother’s face flickered and died. By the time he stood up, he couldn't remember why he had come to the shop, only that the horizon was calling, and for the first time in his life, his feet didn't know the way. Elias reached under the counter and pulled out