The Witch's Shoes

The Witch's Shoes

My name is David Black. I am 21 years old. I live in a regular size house with a regular family. I have two loving parents and a younger sister Claire who is 14. I am currently in college studying the German language, and German history and culture. Claire had just begun high school. I lead an ordinary life just like any other person my age. But unfortunately, the life that I have always known is about to be destroyed by an ancient witch and a deadly misunderstanding.

One day after returning home from a long day of classes, Claire ran up to me very excited for some reason. "Look what I just got for the best bargain ever!" In her hands were a pair of red, antique high heeled shoes. "I found them at some shop that sells phony magic stuff, and they were at an incredible price! Only fifteen dollars! The best part is they fit me perfectly!" Claire beamed. "They look nice." I said. But after taking another look at them, I started feeling a very strong urge to try them on. Just something about them made me feel that I had to wear them despite me being a guy. It worried me, so I quickly changed the subject. "So, you want to know what happened in class today?" "Uh, every time you talk about your day, all you talk about is some new German word you learned or how interesting the German culture is. I just can't take it anymore! Oof vader Zane!" "It's, auf wiedersehen." I remarked. "This is exactly what I'm talking about!" Claire sighed. She then ran upstairs to her room and nearly slammed the door. Lately, Claire and I have been growing distant. All she can talk about is cute clothes, and gossip about the girls at school and the boys she likes. I have been so absorbed in my German studies, that I forget to tone it down around everyone. I miss the days when we would both play video games together, and fight over who played who in Smash Bros. or Mario Kart. "I wish I could understand her better." I sighed under my breath.

As the days went by, I kept sneaking glances at Claire's new shoes, almost obsessively. I began to study them in detail. They are primarily red leather with a three-inch heel and straps that crisscross over the foot and buckle around the ankle. There are red cloth frills that adorn the toe and heel of the shoe, and a large red ribbon rests where the frills on the toe meet. You can tell that they are antique, yet they seem to be very well taken care of. Just like when I first saw them, I desired more than anything to try them on. The longer the days went by the more I would think about those shoes. I would even have dreams about them. They would be in my grasp but would then be quickly snatched away. I couldn't take it anymore. So, I waited for a time when everyone was out of the house, and Claire had gone out with different shoes. It took a long time, because she wore those shoes almost every day. But then It happened, my parent's left on their anniversary date and Claire had a sleepover at a friend's house. After everyone left, I ran into Claire's room and threw open her closet. There they were, at the center of the shoe rack. I gingerly picked them up, and felt how smooth the leather was, and how soft the frills were. Oh, enough feeling them put them on already! I furiously unbuckled the straps and shoved my feet into them. To my surprise, my foot actually fit inside. That can't be right? Claire said how well they fit her, and my feet are almost twice the size of hers! Uh, oh! Did I break them? In my frantic desire to put them on, did I tear the leather? The shoes are old. I quickly pulled the shoes off, but they seemed perfectly fine. There were no tears or any other damage to be seem. I checked my feet and they were still the size tens they always were. So, what is going on here? I slipped my foot back inside the shoe, and again, the shoe fit me fine. I put on the other one and began to walk around the room, a little wobbly having never walked in heels before. But from what I could feel the shoes fit perfectly. I then took them off and watched them closely. After the shoe left my foot, it began to shrink to a much smaller size. I put it on again and noticed that it actually grew as the shoe went on. It's so subtle, no wonder I didn't realize what was going on. Claire did say that they came from a shop that sells phony magic stuff, maybe they are not so phony after all. I wore them for a bit more until I finally decided to put them back before anyone came home. After returning to my room, what I just did suddenly hit me. Embarrassment welled up inside me. I just pranced around in my sister's high heels and was having fun doing it! I buried my face in my arms just wanting to disappear. I decided to distract myself by playing some video games. Sure enough, I was able to run away from my problems thanks to video games. Oh, video games, you never let me down. It was getting late, so I went to sleep. The next day, I tried to forget the events of last night. I was too embarrassed around Claire that I avoided her most of the day. After a day that seemed to go on forever, it was finally time for bed. Tomorrow was Monday after all. I crawled into bed and drifted of to sleep.

After a while, my sleep was suddenly cut short. My eyes were immediately wide open. I could see daylight coming through the windows. But I wasn't in my bed, I wasn't even in my room! I looked around and realized that I was in my sister's room! "What the...?" I tried to get up but I twisted my ankle and fell to the floor. I looked and saw that I was wearing the red shoes again! But that is not all I was wearing. I was wearing Claire's skirt, thigh highs, blouse, and.....BREASTS!!!! Sitting under the blouse were two c-cup breasts! I slowly moved my hands up to my chest and began feeling them. They certainly were real. They were warm, soft, but above all, they were sensitive. When I touched them, I could feel that touch on my chest. After a little more rubbing I began to get a little aroused, so I stopped. Then I realized, If I have breasts, then I must have a.... I pulled up the skirt to see some white cotton panties underneath. But underneath those panties, there wasn't my penis. I pulled the waistband on the panties and peered inside and saw only flat space with a tuft of dark pubic hair. I was a girl. I was about to explore this new part of my anatomy, but I was stopped by a thought. "If I am a girl in my sister's room, wearing my sister's clothes then I must be...." I quickly spun around toward Claire's standing mirror and was greeted by the reflection my sister. Although the pose she was in was not one I would ever expect to see her in. Her skirt lifted up to show her panties, one hand groping her own breasts, and a very shocked and confused look on her face. My, or I guess I should say Claire's, hands darted away from her private areas and I jumped to my/her feet. "How the hell is this happening?!" I shrieked in Claire's voice. After a bit of panicking, I realized that maybe Claire is in my body right now. I began to run to get to my room, but I nearly tripped again. So, I pulled of the red shoes. But the second I did, everything went black. A while later, I woke up in my bed. "A dream huh?" I thought to myself. I have been having a lot of strange dreams lately. Especially ones that involve those red shoes.

A couple days past and I hadn't had any weird dreams since. I went downstairs to see Claire before she left for school. I caught her right before she was about to leave. She was sitting in front of the front door putting on the red shoes. "Have a fun day at school, Claire." I said. My usual goofy grin when I see her off. "Oh, you know I won't." She joked. The second she finished saying that, she had finished getting her shoes on. Then, something strange happened. I suddenly was blinded by a bright flash and when I opened my eyes, I was sitting in front of the front door where Claire was sitting. I heard a loud "thud" behind me and turned around to see a man who looks just like me fall to the floor. "Who..." I began to say, when I noticed my voice sounded a lot like Claire's. I went white and looked down to see Claire's body greeting me once again. The red shoes hugging Claire's feet. "It happened again?!" I said. Still surprised to hear Claire's voice instead of my own. I shrugged off these feelings to check on my body. It hadn't moved at all since it fell over. "Could Claire be inside my body too?" I went to check on my body, but no matter what I tried, it didn't wake up. I could tell that my body was still alive. It had a pulse and was breathing, albeit slowly. But it seemed like my body was in a deep sleep. Did my body get hurt when it fell?! If Claire is in there, is she alright?! I calmed myself down and decided that first things first, I should move my body somewhere better than the floor. "There is no way I'll be able to lift or, I guess more realistically, drag my body anywhere with these shoes." I thought to myself. I took them off and when I did, I saw the same bright flash and I was lying on the floor in my body. I quickly got up and saw Claire staring at me with a very concerned expression. "Are you alright David!" She cried. "Oh..uh...I'm fine." I said. Giving a slight nervous chuckle. "Why were you on the floor just now?" She asked. "I was uh, just picking up a penny that I dropped." I quickly lied. "Okay..." She said with her eyebrow raised. "Wait a minute, I thought I just put these on?!" She said grabbing the red shoes. She then started putting them on again. I quickly shouted for her to stop. But she had already put them on before I could stop her. I closed my eyes, but nothing seemed to happen. "Are you really okay?" She said with a concerned look on her face. "I guess I stayed up too late playing video games." I laughed. "Alright." She said, "But please take better care of yourself okay." "Okay." I replied. She then smiled and left for school. I was a bit surprised by how much concern she showed for me just then, but I was even more surprised by what had happened earlier. Was that not a dream I had? Could those shoes have something to do with me possessing my sister? I thought about this all day and decided to do some research. As expected, nothing legitimate came from searching around on the internet, and I wouldn't know anywhere I could go that would actually be able to teach me about the paranormal. My only lead was to check out the shop that Claire had bought the shoes from. Luckily, she was bragging so much about her purchase, that she mentioned the shop's address multiple times. So, I set out to see what I could learn about the red shoes.

The "Magick Item Shoppe" was a small antique building tucked away in a back alley downtown. My sister had learned about it from one of her goth friends when she brought a Ouija board over one day. The inside of the store looked like a set out of the Addams Family. The whole store was covered in dust and cobwebs, and many random antiques lined the walls. At the counter was a girl about my age dressed in the typical goth attire. Despite her gloomy appearance, she greeted my me enthusiastically and gave me a wide smile. I blushed a bit after realizing how cute this girl is. But I came here for a reason, so I walked up to her and asked her if she remembered my sister. The store clerk did remember, so I asked if she new if there was anything strange about the shoes she sold her. "I always thought they were just some old shoes." The store clerk said in a very out of character, cheerful voice. "I would have bought them for myself, if I had an outfit that they would go with." I wonder if all her outfits are pure black like the one she is wearing now? "Oh, I know! Why don't we ask my nana? She knows everything about what we sell in the store. I tried to learn what some of the things here do, but my nana's explanations are always a bit complicated." The store clerk said with a chuckle. She then took me through a curtain behind the counter into what I assume is her nana's house. "Nana! I brought a curious customer!" The clerk said in a sing-song voice. "Bring them in then." I heard an annoyed sounding old lady shout from one of the rooms. The clerk led me to a room and inside was an impressive home library with an ancient looking woman sitting in a comfy rocking chair behind a desk. She eyed my over, sighed, and then beckoned me closer. "What would you like to know?" The old lady said in a tone that sounded just as annoyed as the first time she spoke. "You see, my sister came in the other day and bought a pair of red shoes from here. Ever since she got them weird things have been happening." I explained. "What kind of weird things?" She said with a hint of interest. "Well I..." I looked around to see if the store clerk was still here. Satisfied that she couldn't here me, I continued. "I had this urge to put them on. Then after I did, I found myself in my sister's body a couple of times. I know it sounds crazy, and I thought I was dreaming at first, but I know it's real! Is there anything at all you can tell me about those shoes?" "Hmm. I see, shoes that entice one to wear them. Then giving that allowing that person to possess another's body. Hmm." She began to think aloud. "Those shoes must have been belonged to the red witch of Bavaria." "The red witch? Wait a second, Bavaria?!" I said excitedly. "Yes, a very old tale." She said as she began looking over one of the bookshelves. She then pulled a red book off a shelf and opened it to certain page. "Ah yes, here it is." She said and then cleared her throat.

"Once upon a time in the forests of Bavaria, there lived a witch. A truly evil witch who the kingdom only referred to as the red witch. The red witch would capture pretty young girls from the village, by tricking them to enter her home. When she captured a girl, she would perform an evil ritual that would force the witch's soul into the girl's body allowing the witch to stay young and beautiful forever. But there was a beauty that the witch could never have. The young princess of the land. The witch tried many times to lure the princess into her clutches, but time after time, the witch's plans were thwarted by the king's knights and sorcerers. One day, the princess proclaimed a contest. Any cobbler who could present her with shoes unlike any other will be granted a chest full of gold as a reward. The witch heard of this. But was not interested in the gold, she was interested in the opportunity this contest provided. She captured one of the village men and made him her thrall. Using her new slave to gather materials, she fashioned a pair of red leather shoes. She made those shoes with two enchantments. The first would compel all who laid eyes on the shoes to desire more than anything to put them on. The second would allow the witch to attach a connection to her soul in the shoes. If someone were to wear them after that connection has been made, the witch would be able to possess that person without the use of her rituals. The witch dressed her thrall in fine clothes and sent him to enter the contest with the red shoes. The first enchantment bewitched the princess and she declared the red shoes the victor immediately. She then slipped them on her feet and was possessed by the witch. The witch performed a very convincing act as the princess. But she would soon find a drawback in her plan. Upon removing the shoes, the witch found herself back in her hut and back in her body. She realized that the magic wasn't potent enough to take over the princess's body permanently. The witch began devising a ritual that would make the possession permanent. But it would require the princess to wear the witch's magic amulet. Day after day, the princess would wake up, step into the red shoes, and become possessed. But the witch could not find any way to convince the king or the princess' knights to allow her to go anywhere near the witch's forest. Without her amulet the witch could only perform very basic spells in the princess' body. So, the witch tried everything she could think of. But soon a problem arose for the witch. Every night, when the princess took her shoes off for bed, she would become shocked as to why she was going to bed when she just woke up moments prior. Eventually the king had his most trusted sorcerer talk to the princess when she was in her confused state. The sorcerer was soon able to figure that the shoes had an enchantment on them. The king had the cobbler who brought those shoes tracked down, and the sorcerer and the king's knights followed him to the witch's hut. They then burned down the witch's hut and cut off her head. The shoes were to be destroyed, but the enchantment made it impossible for anyone to want to destroy them. So, instead they were locked away in the castle dungeon, never to be seen again. The princess had another pair of shoes made in the image of the first and lived out the rest of her life free from the witch's clutches. The end."

"So those shoes turned out to be the real thing eh." The old woman grumbled. "If I had known that I would have charged a fortune for them." "Is that it? Is there nothing in that book that says how the enchantment can be broken?" I asked a bit frantically. "No, this is all that is written here. I guess your best bet is to find the witch's laboratory and maybe there will still be clues there. Good luck going all the way to Bavaria though." The old woman shrugged. "But why did the enchantment start acting when it did? My sister wore those shoes many times. But nothing happened until after I wore them?" "Magic items that stay unused for long periods of time lose their power temporarily. But when they are exposed to people with some magic affinity, they eventually regain their power. I assume your sister wearing the shoes everyday happened to recharge them just enough. And you were the lucky one to put them on after that and connect your soul to them like the witch did. Now whenever your sister wears them, you will possess her body." The old lady explained. "That can't be right, my sister put them on today soon after I took them off of her, but I didn't possess her the second time." "Most powerful magic enchantments usually have a once per day limit. So, if your sister puts them on tomorrow, you'll be the first to know." The old woman chuckled. Mortified I turned around to leave but the old woman offered me another book she pulled off the shelf. "Here take this, it'll at least help you understand something about magical items and enchantments." I thanked her and went to take it. "Thirty bucks." The old woman said holding the book away. I groaned and forked over the cash. I said my good byes to the store clerk and her nana and returned home. I then began reading the book I (reluctantly) bought in hopes that I could find out any information on how to remove the enchantment. So far, my only options are to: A. keep my sister from wearing those shoes. But the enchantment will compel her to wear them and I don't think she'll listen to me anyway. B. destroy the shoes. But if the story is true the enchantment will prevent me from wanting to destroy them plus my sister would hate me for doing that. C. Go t Bavaria and see if I can find out anything. But when am I ever going to be able to go to Germany? "Wait a second!" The abroad study to Germany is coming up and the location it is going to be in is Bavaria! So, there's my plan. I will go to Bavaria and search for clues as to where the witch's lab could be.

After many days of abruptly possessing my sister and quickly tearing of the shoes to return, the day for the abroad study arrived. I was lucky on the days I possessed her. It never happened while I was driving or in the middle of class. My sister goes to school before me after all I just hope that luck remains while I'm in Germany. It was the strangest thing on my flight over there. Midway through the flight I returned to my sister's body over a thousand miles away and then went back to mine in an instant. It reminds me of that one movie in which people could transfer their consciousness to temporary bodies, as a means of quick long-distance travel. After a long flight we finally arrived in Nuremberg. I was so excited, but I had to keep reeling myself back in so that I wouldn't forget my objective here. On my free days, I would ask around (in my passable German) about the red witch and where her hut once was. The first couple days didn't lead me anywhere. And suddenly being pulled back to my sister's body in the middle of the day was a hassle. But I eventually found I museum that specialized in Bavarian folklore. I got to talking with the curators. One of them had a very good idea where the red witch's hut might have been. He pulled up a map and circled a portion of the Veldenstein forest. I now had a destination. It was a bit of a hike, but I eventually made it to the location the curator circled. I searched and searched but could not find the remains of any old hut. "There is nothing here!" I shouted. But after taking another step, the ground collapsed beneath me and I fell into a dark passageway. I got up and dusted myself off. When my eyes adjusted to the dark, I could see I was in a stone corridor and in front of me was a large stone door with magical circles I recognize from the book I "bought." This is a magically sealed door, I remembered. I must be in the right place! Let's see, If I remember correctly, a magically sealed door can only be opened by the magic of the witch or wizard that set the runes. My heart sank after remembering that fact. Now there is no longer any way for this door to be opened. The runes protect the door from damage, so not even explosives will get me in. A leaned up against the door with my head down and sighed a sigh of defeat. To add insult to injury, I noticed I was back in my sister's body. "Ugh. Curse you! Different time zones!" I shouted as I removed the shoes. When I returned to my body, I noticed the door was wide open. "Could it be that the door detected the witches magic from when the enchantment activated? Thank you! Different time zones!" I proceeded to investigate the witch's laboratory. I got my flashlight ready, but the ceiling of the room had glowing crystals embedded in it that gave the room a dim green glow. Although the door protected the lab from anything getting in, it could not protect the lab from the effects of time. Many of the books that lined the shelves were nearly dust and unreadable. There were jars that, at one point, probably had animal or maybe magical creature specimens in them. But now they only contained a black goo. I moved further in toward a large desk with a bunch of rusty alchemical tools lined up on it. On the center of the desk was a small, yet very impressive looking lock box. I noticed more magical symbols on the box and remembered another passage from the book. "Magical chests can only be opened with the magician's amulet, typically worn around the neck. Be very careful around chests like these, because many of them are booby trapped by the magician and could spell doom for the incautious." I backed away slowly from the desk. "Please don't turn me into a newt. Please don't turn me into a newt. Please don't turn me into a newt." I pleaded in my head. I took another look around when I noticed a figure in the corner of the room. It was hard to see what it was being covered in cobwebs and dust. I dusted off the object and jumped back when I noticed what it was. It was a headless skeleton wearing an ornate dress and had a large pendant draped around its spine. "This must be the witch's corpse!" I remarked. "Then this must be her magic amulet." I reached down and grasped the jeweled pendant. The second I touched it memories started flowing into my head. I was running through the forest, being chased by dogs and men in plate armor. I came to a solitary hut in the middle of the woods and pulled up a trap door leading into a stone corridor. A familiar door sat at the end of the passage. I reached out towards the door when a hand holding a knife reached around my neck and slit my throat. Pain was all I could feel. Pain and anger. I let out a high-pitched scream soon followed by nothing but gurgles. I could feel power welling up from inside my chest. It grew stronger and stronger until it suddenly burst out from me in all directions, knocking my attackers away. Clutching my neck, I opened the door and ran inside the lab, the door slamming shut behind me. I tried to use magic and potions to heal me, but I realized the man who attacked me must have been using a magic dagger. "Damn that sorcerer!" I managed to gurgle out. I stumbled and fell hitting my back against the corner of the room hard. Soon after, I felt something in the back of my neck give and my vision got lower and lower and began spinning. When the spinning stopped my head was resting on the floor and I could see a headless corpse wearing an ornate dress and had a large pendant draped around her neck. "Those must have been the witch's final memories!" I said out loud. I would have dwelled on them further but experiencing someone's death was beginning to make me feel nauseous. I quickly took the amulet and went to open the lockbox. Sure enough, the lock opened. Inside was a very well-preserved leather journal. Thumbing through the pages, I could understand some of the old German words. This was the witch's magical notebook! I might be able to find just what I need in here! I got to reading what little I could. Eventually I came to a passage that mentioned the red shoes. In the passage I could make out: break enchantment .......................................wearing red shoes.........possessing princess................ amulet worn...................stand in magic circle.....................recite incantation.......................enchantment in shoes..........no more. Does this mean that if I perform this ritual, the enchantment in the shoes will be removed? It doesn't seem too hard. The magic circle is very well drawn in here. The incantation is a little complicated, but I should be able to say it. Alright, this was a great success. I tucked the journal in my backpack then put the amulet on and tucked it under my shirt and went out. I finished up my abroad study and was on my way home. Everyone in my group probably thought I was narcoleptic with me passing out almost daily. Despite that, I did have some fun in Germany. I'll have to go again when this is all over. Maybe I'll take my sister with me next time. I finally arrived home and now it was time to plan out how to break this curse.

I waited for a day when my parents were out of the house and I was possessing my sister. Once I was alone in her body, I moved to my room where I had the magic circle ready. I put on the amulet and opened the page in the journal where the incantation is. I read it a few times in my head to focus on the pronunciation. When I was confident enough I said it. Suddenly I felt a feeling. It was a similar feeling to when the witch used her magic to blast away her attackers. The feeling grew stronger and I could feel it start to move lower until it finally was focused at my feet. Suddenly I could feel the feeling spread outward in all directions and disappear. "Did it work?" I asked, noting that I was still my sister. I took the shoes off, but this time I didn't return to my body! I tried putting them on and taking them off again, but nothing was working! I then tore open the witch's journal and began translating it again. I pulled out all my books on old German and got to work. But from what I read, it was the instructions to break the enchantment. Did I do something wrong? Did I draw the circle wrong? Or say the incantation wrong? "What's happening?!" I screamed in Claire's voice. Tears streaking down her eyes. I touched the amulet and suddenly I got a new memory from the witch. It was a memory from when she was writing this passage. I could hear her thoughts to herself as she was writing. "Oh, this is quite a devilish back up plan I've thought up. If the king finds my hut while I'm possessing the princess. I will write in here that taking the shoes off is dangerous, and that a certain ritual must be performed in order to undo the enchantment. But the ritual won't be for breaking the enchantment. It will instead be the ritual for allowing me to take over her body completely. Without the enchantment, my old body will die, and I will put on an act that the witch is no more. And when I finally kill that old fool of a king. I will be the queen of this land and all will kneel before me!" "Oh no! What have I done. I now have Claire's body permanently?! Wait, what about mine?!" Suddenly my body started convulsing violently. It was suffocating! and after a short while, my body fell silent. Just like what the witch said, the enchantment is no longer keeping my body alive. I fell to the floor and wept. Because of my incompetence and this damn witch's trick I've lost both my body and my sister forever! "These damn shoes!" I screamed as I threw them across the room. There is no longer anything that can be done. This is my punishment for letting myself be taken in by the witch's spell.

Telling my parents that "my brother, David was dead" was the hardest part of it all. I never realized how much my death would hurt them. They would be in a deep depression for months before they could even begin to move on. Seeing them like that, I just wanted to them the truth. That I wasn't dead, that I was right here. But that would only make things worse. They probably wouldn't believe me either. Attending my own funeral was a surreal experience though but seeing all my friends and family mourning for me was too much for me to take. Claire always was a crybaby and I guess I am too now. A week after my funeral, I decided to pay the Magick Item Shoppe a visit again. I explained to the clerk what had happened, and she took me to see her nana. "So that's what happened." The old woman said with a much more sympathetic tone. "Magic is always something that should not be practiced by the inexperienced. I'm very sorry. I shouldn't have let you try to solve that alone." "Thank you. I understand that now. And that is why I came to give you these." I handed her the witch's amulet, journal, and the red shoes. "These should be in the care of someone who knows the danger they possess." "I will see to it that they are sealed away. But these shoes no longer have any magic in them. Do you want to give them away, they were your sister's after all?" The old woman asked. "No, they only bring back memories of my failures and disgust." I replied coldly. "Well there is nothing more that can be done. I guess I should try to live out my new life as my sister as best I can. It is the least I can do to make amends." "That is a wise decision." The old woman nodded. "And if you need any help with that, my granddaughter will always be here." "Thank you. I'm sure I'll need it. I don't know the first thing about being a girl and I can't really ask people that sort of thing at this age." I said with a sad laugh. "In that case. Juniper! Get in here!" The old woman's change from tender kindness to sudden ferocity caused me to jump. The store clerk (who I assume must be Juniper) popped in all smiles as always. "Yes nana!" "Teach this 'boy' what being a girl is all about!" "Yes nana!" Juniper said accompanied by a very cute laugh. So, Juniper taught me everything about being a girl. How-to dress, talk, how-to walk-in heels, how-to apply make-up, the nitty gritty about that time of the month. I got the whole crash course. Eventually, I was able to live as a girl and me and Juniper became very close friends. I might ask if she would want to be more than just friends. But that is a story for another time. I still will never forgive that witch or myself for what has happened to my family but living out my sister's life to the fullest is the only way I can apologize for what I have done, and I know that that is what she would have wanted.