She lived a charmed life, “under a lucky star,” or so she always said.  She was born to a poor family and barely had enough to eat.  But Youki was one of those poor fortunates, somehow oblivious to reality.  She was always happy.  Even when she was forced to work long hours in the shoe factory as a young child, she found joy in her work and in her friendships.  She was paid enough to buy survival rations of rice, and with a new pair of shoes once a year.

Her factory made exact copies of the latest shoe styles.  They worked with materials that looked like the finest leathers.  The shoes were “beautiful.”  And so, Youki began her love affair with shoes from a very young age.

Like Confucius said, “Time flies when you’re having fun.”  (Okay, maybe it wasn’t Confucius, but just shut up, this is fiction and I can write whatever I want!)   The years zipped along until Youki found herself a grown adult.  At 16 she had achieved her full height of 4’11”.  Her skin was like beautiful, pale porcelain.  She had fine features and dramatic cheek bones.  Her small body was full of cheerful life.  Her feet would forever fit into size 4 shoes.

Youki married at 17 and had two children before she was 20.  It was a minor miracle that her small breasts made enough milk to sustain them.  She would be forever amazed at how God could change her diet of rice and water into breast milk.

At 27 she lost her first tooth.  Though she remained outwardly cheerful by nature, she could no longer whistle without a front tooth.  She learned to ease the inner sadness of her lost beauty by saving for a new pair of shoes.

At 37, she fell and broke her wrist.  Her grandmother fixed a splint for her.  Grandmother’s wisdom came from the experience of many such broken bones.  Youki learned to ease her pain again by thinking of a new pair of shoes.  When she felt better, she went shopping with her mother and grandmother.

By the time Youki was 47, she had lost quite a few more teeth, and 2 inches in height.  Her back hurt all the time.  She struggled to stand straight.  She could no longer stand to wear her beautiful high heels.  It hurt too much to wear them.  She didn’t know that the pain was due to another broken bone in her back.

At 57, Youki was no longer the beauty she had once been.  She remained pleasant and cheerful, but for shorter intervals, as pain has a way of interfering with joy and serenity.  Gradually, she took to walking with a cane, and spent more time sitting, resting her aching back.

But one thing remained a constant consolation in her life.  Shoes!  And now at 67, she became more appreciative than ever.  The curvature in her spine had become severe.  She had a very hard time looking up.  Her gaze was permanently aimed to the floor by the question mark shape of her collapsed spine.

“Nice shoes,” Youki said to a thin young woman on her way to work, unable to look up into her pale, smiling face.

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Play the Crazy ”Got Milk?” Matching Game.