Red sneakers: a short story by Ángel “El Halcón” Domínguez

Angel “The Falcon” Dominguez

I wash them carefully with lukewarm water, I speak to them affectionately, I caress them wrapped in foam, every weekend when I remove their shoelaces, I feel in my hands the sensation of removing, one by one, the petals of a flower.

On the roof of the neighborhood, he took them to dry on the rods under a bright sky, the wind receives them with a warm kiss, the birds contemplate them with envy, they would give the flapping of their wings to feel their comfort in their skinny feet, it is so much their desire to walk with them, that they have no alternative but to try to screw them up for courage.

I like to wear them with skinny pants, they are gorgeous with short shorts and they go well with all kinds of denim. They are my companions in battle, they have freed me from dog bites, I remember the Olympic races that they have caused me, the most difficult one happened to me with Doña Ana’s dog, a huge pitbull with brindle complexion, on that occasion for for a moment I felt in my calves, the panting of his slimy snout, in a matter of seconds in an unimaginable jump I was saved from his sharp fangs, the horn of an old truck distracted him from his objective, in the same way they have freed me from men who harass me, there is no shortage of bald reciting the nonsense of their compliments, my neighborhood is one of the most dangerous in the city for a single mother, or another woman, walking in heels is giving advantage to any daring.

I love my red tennis shoes, they identify the soft or hard of the abyss in turn, they dream of the sand of the sea, but they prefer the rigidity of the dusty streets. Literally, one day I’m going to hang them on a tree or on a CFE cable, I’m afraid someone won’t be surprised to see them, it would be the last straw if not even the drunks on the block would recognize who they are, every day I have cooperated for their knob, to gain their trust.

There are many models and colors similar to the ones I wear, but they are unique, in the course of my days they have earned a very special place in my heart, I would feel incomplete without a pair of my Vans.

In my will I would leave a clause written with my own handwriting: the one who is worthy of wearing my red tennis shoes will be able to possess everything I had in life.