'New shoes traded in return for your old shoes.'
I read the sign in bewilderment as I walked along the coast in a small town in southern New South Wales. 'There must be a catch,' I thought, and yet I could not help myself but to enter the shop and find out what the catch was.
I looked around in the shop and I found it peculiar that none of the shoes had any price tags on them. I thought about asking the shopkeeper, but I was too shy to ask. Instead, I observed how a man walked up to the till and exchanged a pair of old smelly shoes, for a pair of new premium label sports shoes.
"Thank you, James. I hope you'll enjoy your new shoes." The shopkeeper exclaimed with a jovial voice and a big smile.
I couldn't contain my curiosity any longer, so I approached the shopkeeper and spoke. "I don't understand the concept of this store. Can you please explain it to me?"
The shopkeeper smiled and replied. "The concept is pretty clear. You pick a pair of shoes from the shelves like you would in a normal store. But instead of paying with money, you pay with your old shoes."
"But how do you run a business if you don't charge your customers?" I asked.
"Have you ever heard the expression, 'To walk in someone else's shoes'?" The man asked.
"Of course." I replied.
"Then come with me to the office and I'll explain." The man said and put a hand on my shoulder.
I felt very confused, but I followed the man to the back office. Once we were in the office, he showed me a picture of him and a woman, who were posing in the desert.
The man spoke: "This was me and Marissa nineteen years ago before we found oil on our lands. I thought that finding oil would make us happy but instead, it drove us apart. Upon seeing the environmental destruction that the oilfields caused, Marissa killed herself. While I was now wealthy, I lost what mattered the most, the love of my life."
"That's sad, but I still don't understand the connection to the store policy." I said.
"I realised that if I had walked in Marissa's shoes before she died, I could have saved her life. I was only concerned with my needs to become wealthy, and I never considered her needs. Now I can walk in other people's shoes to learn more about their path." The man revealed.
"But surely you would collect more shoes than you can ever wear?" I argued.
"Yes, but my method stops people from hoarding shoes. By forcing them to give up a pair to get a pair, they will only take the shoes they need." The man revealed.
"I understand." I replied.
"So, would you like to come with me and pick your pair of shoes?" The man asked.
"I would be honoured to, sir." I replied.
The man smiled and together with the man, I tried and picked a pair of new black running shoes. I took off my old shoes and walked I up to the till to complete the purchase.
***
"That will be $99,"
The female cashier at the shoe shop stared at me in awe as I slurred. "Oh, I thought I could swap my old shoes for new ones."
"Is this a joke? How many drugs have you had? Leave immediately, or I'll call the police." The woman exclaimed.
I sighed, put on my old shoes, and left the store. I had consumed too many mushrooms the night before, and apparently, some things never happen in the real world.
The end