The Wind

You shouldn’t pull faces, because if the wind changes direction, then you might stay that way. The kid wearing no shoes pondered that idea more than any other he had ever been given, as he didn’t think it was just for kids, despite it only ever being said to them. Adults change faces throughout their lives, the wind changes and they forget that they weren’t that person until moments before. You start off thinking that you’re gonna change the world, but after the world has changed sufficiently without your input, you realise that maybe you can’t, that maybe you can just change your part of it. So you stop and try and change your life, and once it has changed enough to fit in line with the world, you no longer wanna change it. And you forget that you ever did. The wind changes direction and you carry on. So why not follow this wind the kid thought. He walked barefoot down the street to those who were waiting for him on the corner.

“This is probably the end”, he thought, “but lots of things that have a beginning never get to the end so this time I’ll give this story a chance”.

“Hey Jim, where the fuck is my money?”

Those words meant this wasn’t gonna be a happy ending, but Jim, who had sold his shoes to try and give these guys something thought fuck it. This wind has been blowing long enough. Time to change faces, so he pulled the coins out of his pocket and threw them on the floor at the feet of those questioning him.

“That’s all I motherfucking have, and that’s all that you’re motherfucking getting”.

Using motherfucking twice in a sentence has never gone down well, especially not in this neighbourhood, so Jim just stood there waiting for the inevitable shit kicking to come. Maybe he coulda come out on top in this situation if he’d thought ahead, but without shoes he couldn’t run, and he couldn’t kick, so there was no chance. Plus his exposed feet seemed like an obvious target as they stood out like the proverbial sore thumb. The four zoo keepers looked at the kid squaring up to them and had visions of throwing him to lions or tigers or bears, but something stopped them from moving. He had no shoes. He had sold his fucking shoes to give them something. That’s just too much for some people to comprehend. Some people as in people who had always just taken what they wanted and never thought to pay back what they owe. The wind changed and they said, almost as one,

“Ta Jim. Much appreciated. Now get back in your fucking cage, before someone notices.”