Photo Story: The Other Shoe

My daily constitutional treads a familiar story arc. Swerve raccoon-eyed adults being dragged along by relentless toddlers. Observe benches full of couples rubbing each other’s faces clean with the memory of cool summer spray from boat rides on the lake. Pass through the park where a clutch of tourists play chess inattentively, unaware of the raven-haired girl with rosy cheeks. Her grubby shoe and two socks made the front page of the city newspaper for almost a month. They never gave me back the other shoe, afterwards. I return home; my eyes and nose are turning red with the cold.