On Shoe Day, Tacchi went out to buy new shoes and came back.
“Well? A perfect form, don’t you think?”
Kopo peered closer. The shoes certainly looked expensive, but the tips of Tacchi’s overly long feet stuck out about a centimeter past the end of the shoes.
“…They’re sticking out.”
“Don’t worry about the details. Look at the beauty of the whole.”
“You’re definitely going to trip.”
“Beauty sometimes comes with risk—”
Before he could finish, Tacchi’s foot caught on a stone and he fell over.
Kopo laughed, and Tacchi cleared his throat.
“Wouldn’t bare feet be better?” Kopo said.
Tacchi was silent for a while, then muttered, “…That might be tacky in its own way.” In the evening plaza , two bursts of laughter mixed together and faded .
Margin note: That night, Tacchi made his own shoe insoles by hand, adjusting them so the tips of his feet fit perfectly. He told no one.
【Today’s Drop】
- Shoe Day (March 15): Commemorates the founding of Japan’s first Western-style shoe factory on March 15, 1870.
This is an English translation of “世界で一番長い足の靴”, part of Tales of Amencho Town (蛙鳴町奇譚).