Horacio recognises trouble when he sees those shoes. They are plain evil—dusty brown, the leather hard and cracked like the soil after a six-month drought. These are devil shoes. The feet plant themselves on the shoeshine stand with swaggering confrontation.
Horacio’s shoeshine station is reserved for good men. They ascend its throne to rent, for five minutes, the lofty experience of a master craftsman serving at their feet. Uptown is better, in the canyons where they excavate money. Or the tourists in the plaza, but they wear flipflops. You can’t shine flipflops.
“Begone devil,” he says to the shoes.
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Friday fictioneers is a weekly challenge set by Rochelle Wisoff Fields to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here
Neil MacDonald Author 
Horacio is a brave shoeshine. I’ve got several pairs of devil shoes, so I know.
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Thanks, Sandra
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Dear Neil,
Not only devil shoes, but they would be hard to shine. I love the way Horacio can assess the man’s character by his shoes. Nicely done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks so much, Rochelle
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I love the phrase ‘canyon where they excavate money’
Poor Horatio, maybe he should charge by the hour.
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An hour for a shoeshine seems excessive, even for a craftsman like Horatio
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The shoe shine guy stayed in character throughout, excellent — first paragraph, stunning, stunning writing. V good story.
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Thanks so much, Ain
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I right enjoyed reading this,
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Thanks so much, Michael
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When shoeshine is his profession, he’ll look forward to such opportunities to maximize customers.
Tourists in the plaza love flip-flops 🙂
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He seems particular about what segment of the market he serves
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This is a fun one. Great take.
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Thanks, Mason
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I really like this story, Neil. The concept of ‘devil shoes’ is intriguing. As Ain says, the character of the shoeshine man is wonderfully consistent. And you have that glorious line ‘Uptown is better, in the canyons where they excavate money.’ Kudos!
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Thanks so much, Penny.
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He just knew, and why wouldn’t he, it was his field of expertise after all. Cleverly done, Neil, a great read!
Pax,
Dora
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Thanks so much, Dora
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Shoes make the man, or the devil it seems.
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And pretty much anything else in a shoeshine guy’s world
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True.
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Yes, sir. I’ve heard it said that you can judge a man’s character by his shoes.
I can’t even recall the last time I wore shined shoes or witnessed a shoe-shine stand.
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If you’re a barber, you probably judge people’s character by their hair
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The last time I did the barber shop may have been about the same time I got my shoes shined. 🙂
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You have a wonderful imagination – love your shoeshine gentleman and his pride.
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Thanks so much, Lizy
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Now I’m wondering what my shoes say about me! Nice one Neil.
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Buy a shoeshine guy a drink or two and he may tell you. Thanks, Kieth
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I suspect clean shoes are easier to shine. I like the compounding superstition in the story.
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Thanks so much, James
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Experts know their work..
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And Horacio is a master
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It’s a great story sir. I enjoyed it
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Thanks so much
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Oh how fabulous ! I love the idea of knowing through a shoe, the type of person who wears them Horacio sounds like a good judge of character!
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Thanks so much, Laurie. Horacio knows his loafers from his brogues
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A very discerning shoeshine!
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A master of his craft
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So many wonderful, poetic phrases in this one. I’ll admit I have some “devil shoes” and those are the comfiest ones! But, I would never *presume* to go to a shoeshine station with them. I mean, the sheer hubris. Such a fun story.
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Thanks so much, Anne. I think we all have a favourite pair of devil shoes
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he should charge more for devil shoes. 🙂
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Only if he’s motivated by money
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