All my life I’ve loved the Wizard of OZ, so you can imagine my excitement when I found Dorthy’s shoes at Goodwill. I examined them to decide whether I should buy them. They were in perfect condition! Well, except for some weird message on the bottom of the sole: Make a wish, and I will give you what you want but not what you desire. I rolled my eyes as I walked to the cashier, and wondered why someone would write such an odd thing. As I put the shoes on the counter I realized they were a size three. 

“Damn,” I yelled with frustration. 

“Is something wrong Miss,” the cashier asked, a little shocked by my outburst. 

“I’m sorry,” apologizing, I explained myself, “I really wanted these shoes but they are in a size 3.” 

“Oh no miss, these are a size 7 not 3,” he continued after seeing my confused face. “The three is for the message on the bottom, didn’t you read it?” 

“Ohh, you mean that foolish riddle on the bottom,”  I laughed with excitement. “I’ll be…” He cut me off and grabbed me by the shirt. I stumbled as he drew me close. 

“No! Not a foolish riddle. It is true and you must be careful.” I leaned away, shocked and annoyed. How could a grown man believe in such foolishness? 

“Don’t be silly, and I’m going to buy the shoes you don’t have to put a big act on.” I reached for my purse and pulled out the 20 dollars placing it in the man’s hands. I could feel his worrying gaze on my back as I walked out of the store. I shivered once I was out of sight. Why do people have to play such weird and immature tricks? It’s not like anyone ever believes them. 

I climbed into the car and started my drive home. I groaned as soon as I saw the traffic. My house is only 10 minutes away and It’ll take me 20 minutes to get there with this traffic. 10 minutes later I was only 5 minutes away. Ughhhh. The traffic had stopped again. I slowed down and looked behind me at all the other unfortunate people. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a shimmer from my passenger seat. I assumed it was probably just my imagination or the sun reflecting off my shoes.

Once I finally got home, I unloaded my bags and cooked myself dinner. As I sat down on my couch I noticed another shimmer. I’m definitely not imagining it. This is the second time this has happened. I walk over to the bag and take out my shoes. They were glowing in the dark room, and I smiled to myself. The shoes look exactly like Dorothy’s and they glow in the dark. How cool is that? I couldn’t wait any longer, so I slipped the red shoes onto my feet. They were a perfect fit! 

“Ouch, what in the world,” I screamed as my shoes tightened onto my feet. I tried to take them off, but no luck. I grabbed the phone and called the Goodwill. 

“Hello,” a man answered. The same man that sold me these damn shoes. 

“What kind of joke is this,” I screamed, “Look man I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but these shoes won’t come off.” 

“I told you they were dangerous.” He seemed to be laughing as he told that to me. 

“Why are you laughing? Why are the shoes stuck on my feet? How do I get them off? Answer me!” I was furious with him. 

“Make three wishes, and they will come off.” I could hear his smile through the phone.

“What kind of joke is this?” 

“It is not a joke ma’am. You must make three wishes for the shoes to come off, but beware of the warning.” 

“What warning?” What the heck was this man talking about? 

“The one on the bottom of the shoes,” after I didn’t respond, he continued, “Just make your wishes, and they will come off.” Was this man being serious with me right now? I hung up the phone, too annoyed to continue the conversation and went to the kitchen to get some scissors. I scrambled through the desk until I found my scissors. I tried to get my scissors into the shoes but the shoes were too tight. I eventually gave up and started cutting the outside of the shoe but the scissors weren’t even scratching the surface. 

After thirty minutes of stabbing my shoes, I threw the scissors down. Maybe I should try to make a wish. Oh gosh, listen to me, I sound like a superstitious freak, but maybe it will work. I stand up and close my eyes. 

“I wish for…” I stopped thinking about what I wanted. “I wish for The Rock to appear in front of me.” I opened my eyes and frowned with disappointment when he wasn’t there. Why am I so upset? I knew it was a foolish prank. I walk to the sink. “Ouch, what the….” I stubbed my toe on a rock. A rock? I gasped as I realized that my wish did come true, well not exactly. That’s when I remembered what the bottom of the shoe had said. “Make a wish and I will give you what you want, but not what you desire,” I said out loud. Of course I had wished for The Rock but hadn’t been clear enough. Excitedly, I ran into the living room to make another wish. 

“I wish for…,” as soon as I started to talk the phone rang. I let the answering machine pick it up. 

“After the beep please leave a message.” 

“Hey, it’s James.” Great, why is my brother calling me? I run over the phone and pick it up. 

“What do you want, James?” I asked, annoyed. 

“Don’t be a rude loser, I just wanted to know if I could crash at your place. Mom and dad are being stupid.” 

“They aren’t being stupid, you’re being a trouble maker,” I yelled, mad at him for always causing trouble. If I had ever done half the stuff he did, I would have been kicked out, but no, he gets away scot free. 

“This is why you have no friends, loser,” he yelled before he hung up. 

“Ughhhh, I wish he had never been born.” I picked the phone back up and called my mom. 

“Hello.” 

“Hey, mom it’s me. James just called me, wanting to know if he could stay at my house. What’s going on now?” 

“Sweetheart, who is James?” 

“Great, not you guys pranking me too.” At this point I hated everyones stupid jokes. 

“Honey, are you ok? I don’t know anyone named James,” she said, sounding honest and concerned. I gasped and dropped the phone. Remembering what I had just wished for. Oh God, I wished he was never born. I ran to my closet and pulled out the old photo albums. He wasn’t in any of the pictures. I started to cry and stood up. 

“I wish…,” I stopped myself to think about what I should say. It has to be detailed and precise. Once I knew what I would wish for I continued, “I wish James was born, and he was back home.” How do I know if it works? I ran outside and down the street to our house. Once I arrived, I knocked on the door. The door opened a second later and there he stood. 

“Oh, James you’re alright,” I screamed excitedly to see him. 

“Uhh, who are you,” he asked, confused. 

“What? I am your sister,” I said, just as confused as he was. 

“Look lady, I don’t have a sister,” he said, closing the door. I sat down on the steps and cried. I no longer have a brother. Maybe I could make another wish. That’s when I saw the shoes were gone. Panicked, I stood up and started yelling. 

“No, no, no they can’t be gone.”

“Honey, what are you doing,” someone asked me. Not someone, my mom was asking me.

“Mom, he doesn’t remember me,” I said while still crying. 

“Who doesn’t remember you,” she asked, confused? 

“James, he doesn’t remember me.” 

“Oh sweetheart you haven’t been gone that long. Calm down. Why are you always so dramatic?” She walked into the house and called for James. 

“James, are you picking on your sister again?” she asked, sounding annoyed with the whole situation. 

“Well, look at her. I didn’t want anyone to know I am related to her,” he said pointing to my bare feet and red face. 

“See honey he remembers you,” she said, hugging me while brushing my hair. “How could he forget you sweetheart? You’re his favorite sister.” I smiled and cried, relieved it was all over. Once mom had calmed me down, I went back home. When I looked ahead, I saw a girl with long dark hair carrying a pair of bright red shoes.