Old woman (for now)

This was written for a blog entry. The prompt is at the top. I am now trying to finish it as a story. I liked the concept and think it could turn out to be a half decent story. Any suggestions/advice/well pretty much anything would be greatly appreciated. Cheers guys

“There was an old woman, who lived in a shoe. She had so many children she didn't know what to do. She gave them some broth without any bread. She whipped them all soundly and sent them to bed.”

What did she look like? What was her name? How old was she?
Why did she live in a shoe? What color was it? Did she have any neighbors?
How many children is “so many?” Were they both boys and girls?
Why was her thinking limited and she didn’t know what to do?
Why did she whip them? Was this a nightly affair?
Did they share beds or each have one?

"Geraldine was an old lady, ancient to be precise. At the age of 374 she had been around centuries longer than the oldest man. Many people shared rumours about Geraldine, about how she grew to be so old. She knows the location of the Fountain of youth. She owns the Holy Grail, it has given her eternal life. A warlock cast a curse on her, her life is eternal, plagued by misery and sorrow None of these were true though, mere faerie tales providing entertainment to the village children. Only one person knows the truth about young Geraldine Rose and her Blue shoe. That person is me.

Geraldine was born to this world like the rest of us. She was raised in the village and has stayed in the village. Her parents on the other hand were Wanderers. You could never keep them in the same place for long. That was until Geraldine was born. Guilt ravaged their souls at contemplation of leaving Yilgm. Geraldine's green eyes glinted with love every time she saw the village; even as she was a babe her eyes always seemed brighter when the village was in full sight. So her parents stayed.

Geraldine grew as any child would, quickly becoming a woman all to fast. Especially for her parents. Eighteen years went past without them Wanderering. Insanity was on the brink, never before had they stopped for this long. Believing that their beautiful daughter would be old enough to care for herself they left. The moon being their only guidance, walking silently from the village one single tear fell from her mother's face leaving a small crater in the dirt she just walked across.

Waking the next morning to find her house empty Geraldine's heart broke. Searching around her house for any signs of clues she stumbled across the traditional blue shoe of a Wanderer. The long high necks that would caress your thighs providing exceptional ankle support. The tongue always held rigid in place. Hard leather on the outside protecting the wearers toes from the damp and cold of the ground. The inside, oh the inside is indescribable. Until you wear a pair you will never know of the comfort, the arch support, the warmth.
Clutching her chest at the sight of this shoe, her soul tore in two. One half departed her body floating away to reunite with her parents. She was aware of the sacrifices they had made for her. Her suffering is none equal to that of theirs. The other half stayed in her body in the village.

Have you ever seen a person with only half a soul? No? It's an undeniable experience. Geraldine was a beautiful woman, green eyes ablaze with passion, her lips to rival that of any God's. The breeze always managed to catch her hair, even on still days her hair flowed with the utmost perfection. But only half a soul. Wrinkles formed on her once flawless skin, grey hair began to overpower the brunette beauty. Her back begun to hunch forming a slight limp on her left side. Her green eyes dulled. No longer did they shine with the intensity of the moon, now all they showed was fear. What Geraldine didn't realise, your soul is your life force, with only half a soul you lose half the strength to live.

Frustration ebbed at Geraldine's mind, only frustration towards herself. She should have done something, anything to prevent her soul from ripping apart. The shoe sat on her bedside table, a constant reminder of her family. Not able to look at the shoe any more she did what first came to her dwindling mind. She buried the horrid blue thing. Seven foot deep, she was a superstitious person now, covered it in Ash foliage and replaced the topsoil. Her mind was beginning to break; you could see it in her eyes. The dull green showed signs of red, cracks formed on her iris.

A strange man came to town the next day. Hooded fellow, dark eyed. Cannot really remember that much, it was a long time ago. I do, however, remember him talking with Geraldine. She stood in silence as he spoke, still as a ghost. After some time he handed her a book. Leather bound, white symbols on the front, couldn't make out the words. The strange thing about this book, it was the same colour as the Wanderers shoe. Grass flattened beneath the souls of the man’s feet as her went to depart town. He halted at the burial site of the shoe, bent down and tapped the ground, not once but seven times. We never saw him again.

This book, to cut a long story short, held the truth to immortality. But it was not this fact that Geraldine was intrigued by this book. Why would a person want to live a half life forever? Her insanity was intensifying each day living as she was. What interested Geraldine was the way to become immortal. To take another's soul revitalises ones own

Many moons past as Geraldine was planning her recovery from her disease. Undetected by Geraldine in her studying and brooding, a sapling had begun to grow on the grave of the shoe. No one took notice of the young plant, the village was a very fertile area. As Geraldine continued to study, to formulate her plan the plant also continued to grow. Sprouting branches, leaves as big as a humans head. The abnormal thing about this plant was its flowers. It's flowers were the same colour as the shoe that it was growing over. Geraldine knew.

We shall skip ahead a few years now, the plant was allowed to grow, finally producing the giant shoe you see before you. Geraldine continued to age at an astonishing rate. Even though she was only thirty she wasn't far off death. She was aware of the time she had left, she needed to act quickly. No one in Yilgm was mindful of Book of Immortality kept safe in the house of shoe. You remember what was said in this book yes? To take another's soul revitalises ones own. By simple physics Geraldine realised younger souls would heal hers quicker then used souls. That is why she opened her house as an orphanage. Strictly an all girls orphanage too, wouldn't want any nasty boy soul to attach itself to her's.
That is why you are here, my beautiful Jerhn." Gagged and bound to the chair, Jerhn's eyes flashed with fear, screaming into the gag, ropes digging into her delicate wrists. "Shhhh, calm down young one, it will be over soon. My soul is almost complete once more." leaving her cheek damp as I smudge dirt brushing away her single tear.


Wow, this turned out a little longer than I was expecting.
I know I haven't answered all of the questions but it is like 1:30 am here and I kind of need some sleep. So if there is any significant flaws in the writing blame the sleep deprivation.
I must say though, not completely happy with it, not as detailed or descriptive as I would normally write but ah well. As long as you people enjoy it. As for now, I am off to bed. Goodnight