When I was a child, I didn’t really care about getting new video games for presents or the latest flashy toys. Here was one thing I wanted above anything else. A pair of light up shoes. Looking back on it, it feels a little silly I desired them so much. A classmate owned a pair and the moment I saw his steps flashing, I focused on nothing else.
I started doing chores to try and save up money for a pair of shoes. I begged my parents for them, with no luck. I’d just gotten a new pair of shoes before I found out the light up ones existed. We weren’t well off, but we weren’t poor either. They didn’t believe in buying another pair of shoes when I already had a perfectly good pair. They promised they would think about getting the ones I wanted after the first set got worn out. To a child, that felt like forever. My last pair of shoes lasted an entire year and I didn’t want to wait that long.
When my classmate found out about how much I wanted his shoes, he playfully teased me about them. His teasing never anything serious. A few months later our class turned on him and said some pretty awful things because he was adopted. I joined in, still bitter about the shoes. I regret what I said and apologize for my words shortly after. He felt hurt by my actions but forgave me. In the back of my mind, I had a feeling if I acted kind to him, he might just give me the shoes because he really didn’t care one way or the other about them.
We became friends because we lived so close by to each other. When I went to his place, I saw that his father would buy him anything he wanted. You would think that would turn him a bit spoiled but somehow, he acted pretty down to Earth. My childhood friend gladly shared whatever snacks I wanted or let me borrow any toys my family could not afford. I was so thankful he forgave me for my bulling, I did my best to be respectful with him.
But he refused to give up the shoes. I think the reason why I coveted them so badly was they were just within my reach. I saw them every day, and they didn’t cost an insane amount. That desire, and a mixture of child stupidity led me to do something I’ll always regret. I decided to steal the shoes.
My chance came when he said his family was going to be gone for a weekend. My heart raced as I thought out my plan. I knew where his house key was hidden. I could just walk in and take them when they were gone. In my room there was a pair of floorboards I could remove and hide stuff inside. My parents didn’t even know about the hiding spot. I could stash the shoes in there. This all would work if he didn’t take the shoes along with him. He’d been wearing them less and less, so there was a good chance of them being left behind.
I didn’t even want to wear them. I just wanted the damn things so bad. I casually walked down the street towards his house, telling my parents that I wanted to the store to buy cheap candy. I saw him get into the family’s car with a wave when he spotted me down the street. Before I reached their house, the was long gone.
I wasn’t going to break into their place in the daylight hours. I would wait until dark. My stomach doing flip flops over the thought of the crime I was going to commit.
When night did come, I nearly backed out of the whole thing. After talking myself into how easy it would be, I crept out of the house for a short walk to his place. My body tensed with stress I thought every neighbor was watching me. Slowly I went up the stairs, looking around expecting to see a neighbor to stop me at any moment. I would prefer the back door, but didn’t know where the key would be hidden. The front door key kept under a happy frog. They really should move it from such an obvious spot.
The lock sounded like a bomb going off as I put the key inside and turned it. Holding my breath, I opened the door just enough to slip inside. I shut it behind me as quietly as I possibly could. No one would be home, and yet I didn’t want to risk someone hearing or seeing me.
The place dark but enough light from the streetlight to see by. I’d hoped the shoes would be by the front door. As I got down low to look through the shoe rack, I heard something. A noise coming from inside the house. I nearly passed out from fear.
My friend didn’t own any pets. It was the one thing is parents never let him have. I strained to try and hear better. When I didn’t hear anything again, I went back to looking, disappointed when I didn’t see the pair of shoes. There a good chance he kept them in his room. I’ve seen him run through the house to go to the washroom the moment he got home, to kick his shoes off in his room when he was finished. I look in there, then leave.
As I silently made my way towards the stairs, I heard the sound again. It sounded like a voice; I was sure of it. I should have run. I shouldn’t have ever come there. The hint of the sound came again and I followed it. My feet creaking the floorboards as I went. If someone was home, I could be caught. But this sound almost like a hurt puppy. I needed to figure out what was going on.
The soft whining came from the basement door. My palms were sweating as I stared at the closed door trying to figure out what to do. I didn’t want to leave a suffering animal behind, but if the animal was too badly hurt, I would need to call an adult for help. I would just go down and see what I could do. The basement had windows so maybe some sort of animal got inside and got hurt somewhere.
Gathering all my courage, I opened the door and made my way down the old wooden steps. There was a light on somewhere in the basement. Did they forgot to turn it off when they left? It wasn’t enough to fill the entire room, but I could see where to walk. The basement floor a cold cement that muffled my footsteps.
The ceiling was exposed and covered with cobweb, making my skin crawl at the sight. I was told this is where my friend’s father stored all his tools and other stuff. We weren’t allowed down there. His parents claiming to be too messy and a bit dangerous with sharp objects on the shelves. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I looked around. Tall shelving crammed the space. The place dusty as if none of these tools were ever used. And each looked pretty different from one another. I didn’t know what his father did to need such a large arrange of things. Maybe he bought and sold them. Something from every trade down here on the shelves.
I could hear the whining sound better now. As I walked between shelves, I did my best not to get caught on anything sticking out. Just as I turned the corner, I froze when the sound turned into a word. Someone begged for help. I almost fainted from how scared I felt. Someone was down here, not an animal like I first assumed.
I could peek between the clutter into the open space beyond instead of walking around the shelf. What I saw made my mouth dry. In that dingy basement, a man sat, strapped down to a chair. Someone I’ve never seen before. Tears stained his face and the tips of his fingers bloody. It took me a second to realize the blood came from the fact was missing his fingernails.
I took a step back to leave when another figure came into view. I couldn’t risk moving and being heard. I stayed, watching the horrible scene play out.
“You’re really making this harder on yourself. If you just gave me the names of your friends, we could end this.”
My heart nearly stopped when I recognized that upbeat tone It was my friend’s father, the kind man I’ve come to respect. His hands stained with blood as he set down some pliers on a table next to the chair. I choked on my fear but still didn’t move.
“Please, I don’t know them. I gave you everything I had. We just exchange some videos, that’s all. I’m not the one recording them. I don’t deserve this…”
I’ve never seen a grown man cry before. His captor let him sob for a few moments until he got on his level. Eye to eye, his tone dropped down disgusted with the man he tortured.
“Those were children in those videos. You supported that. You have earned far more pain that I can give. If you have no names for me, you’re useless.”
Reaching over, he plucked a pair of long scissors and a clamp from the table. His back facing me so I didn’t know what his expression looked like in that moment. This person no longer the kind father I’ve gotten to know but a monster. The other man thrashed trying to get away as the clamp came down on one of his fingers. The scissors hovering ominously in the air. The moment before the blades came down, the man cracked. Through sobs he started to list email addresses and online names.
His captor paused to write down what was being said acting so calm over the whole thing. He even took all the passwords for the man’s accounts so he could investigate further. It felt like ages as the sobbing man listed off names and numbers. My feet hurt from standing for so long, and body trembled from fear.
After he got everything, he could, the father started to cut the tape keeping the man bound. He warned if he made a run for it, he would kill him. The other person too in shock to move. Even after his binds were cut, he didn’t believe he could go free.
“I swear, I won’t ever watch those kinds of videos again, I won’t even go near another kid until I die…” He sobbed still in the chair.
“Let me tell you something, I didn’t care about children for a long time. I could kill one without a second thought. It wasn’t until I settled down into this life, I changed my focus on what kind of lives I took. And I need to take them. Because I am very hungry. Oh, so very hungry….”
Unable to hold back a scream, I yelped when the father’s face twisted and changed. Looking no longer human, but some sort of beast with a face that mostly made of jaws. My scream was drowned out by the other man. He got up and tripped over the chair before the monster caught him. Those jaws tearing into his flesh, taking chucks off the body and causing blood to fly everywhere.
I heard the sounds of that man being eaten alive. I curled up against the shelf, so scared I couldn’t move. I just sobbed wanting to go home and regretting my choices. As the sounds died down, I knew I’ve been caught. I should have been the one eaten next. A hand landed on my shoulder and I screamed, completely out of my mind.
The hand stayed until I calmed down enough to face the father. His humans face stained with blood, and silver eyes staring down at me in the dark.
“Sweetheart, what are you doing here?” He asked in a sweet tone that made me sick.
I broke, sobbing and explained why I broke in. It was all because of those damn shoes. I kept apologizing for breaking into his place and swearing I would never tell a soul of what I saw. He laughed at the small frantic child sobbing in front of him. In fact, he laughed so hard he choked. Wiping tears from his eyes, he lifted me to my feet to usher me out of the basement.
“You’re adorable. Don’t worry about anything happening to you. I promise not to tell anyone you broke in if you promise not to tell your parents what you saw tonight.”
I nodded unable to speak. I would never be able to bring this up to them. I expected him to simply walk me out the door, but he quickly washed his face and changed his clothing. My parents noticed their child missing and went to the street calling my name. He walked over, small scared child in hand. He said I’d gone to the store for a snack run, but got lost. By chance he’d come across me and brought me home. Somehow my parents believed him. He gave us a wave as I was carried by my father back home. He watched, smile hiding a dark secret only I knew.
A few months passed by. My friend still wanted to hang out with me but I couldn’t bring myself to go to his place. I could tell he didn’t have a clue on what his adopted father kept hidden. At least he would be safe with that monster. He broke the news his family would be moving before the winter. I was going to miss him, even after everything. Before he left, he showed up at my place with a box. Since we weren’t going to see each other at Christmas, he wanted to give me my gift early. I felt totally puzzled over what could be inside.
I tore off the delicate red wrapping paper and opened the box. My breath caught when I saw a pair of new light up shoes tucked inside tissue paper. My friend completely unaware of why the sight of them made my face turn pale. I did my best to act natural and thanked him for the thoughtful gift. After he left, I hid those shoes away, never to touch them or even take them out of the box. Since then, I have never coveted something to such an extent and my life is much better for it.