A Pair of Red Heels



Ugly, green... defeated. That's what described the woman who looked like she came straight out of The Wizard Of Oz, standing right infront of me.
I clicked my red heels together once and she glared at me. ''It's rude to gloat,'' she snarled. My tiny terrier barked fiercely at her. She aimed a horribly aimed kick at him, missing by a foot or two.
''Fine. You can buy those red heels anywhere, but... they're sentimental to me. My mother's,'' the woman sends a sad glance my way but I ignore it. ''So, I'll make you a deal. Give me the heels and I'll give you a wish of your heart. Win, win.''
The heels were beautiful, but the woman was right. I didn't need them. So what did I want? My parents were dead. They died in a tornado several years ago. I could bring them back, but I didn't want to. They were probably happy where they were.
I had a nice apartment, I had done what I always wanted to do: move from Kansas to Maine. I had food and water, everything I needed.
That went from the question of what do I need? to What do I want?
It came sudden and clearly; friends.
''Fine. I'll trade you the heels for three new friends,'' I say, already removing the heels. ''Deal, deal, deal!'' the woman cackled. She snapped her fingers and the heels were in her hands and I could barely see three figures walking towards us.
''It was... wonderful... meeting you, Dot.'' the woman says, and her tone implies ''unpleasant'' should take the place of ''wonderful''.
She leaves with a  snap of her fingers, a trail of green smoke left behind. I turn to face my friends.
Slowly, they come into view... a man-sized lion that looks like it used to be a toy puppet for children, something that looks like an oddly bent watering can, and a garden scarecrow.
I sigh. I should have known there would be conditions with the woman's agreements. However, I start walking towards my friends.