A resident Kit and I are friends with keeps finding shoes as she travels from city to city (including long before she got aboard our ship). That’s right, shoes, and definitely not usually broken-down discards.
Ruthanne takes pictures of them (and leaves them untouched). When she posted the latest photo, included below, Valerie, a friend of hers from home, suggested, “It’s time for you to write a short story of abandoned shoes!”
I thought Valerie’s idea was great, so I took it upon myself to try to solve the mystery for her …using A.I.
My Prompt to Chat GPT-4
Write a short story about a woman who finds pairs of shoes in strange places as she travels to many cities around the world. She is a pretty blonde and very intelligent, and does not know why she keeps finding shoes. The story should be witty, interesting, engaging, and have a sense of mystery, with a surprising ending.
That’s it: the situation, a little flavor of the protagonist who doesn’t know the “why.” Then a few hints about what I expect of the story. Very simple, and that really is all I gave it.
I’ve changed nothing in the output other than switching the quotation marks and apostrophes to typographic “curly” style, and swapping out the weird name Chat GPT came up with for Ruthanne. Yeah, I probably should have told the bot her name, but easy enough to fix. In other words, other than the name, all of what follows is pure Chat GPT.
Its output, which took about 20 seconds after I hit Go, included the title:
The Mystery of the Traveling Shoes
In a world that fit snugly between the edges of reality and the vast expanses of the unknown, there lived a pretty blonde woman named Ruthanne, whose intellect rivaled that of the luminaries of her time. Ruthanne was a travel writer, her prose as enchanting as the myriad cities she visited — a life that one could only dream of. Yet, her adventures were embroidered with a peculiar mystery: no matter where she went, from the cobblestone streets of Paris to the shimmering sands of Dubai, Ruthanne found pairs of shoes.
These were no ordinary shoes. They ranged from dainty ballerina flats in the alleyways of Venice to rugged hiking boots perched atop Machu Picchu. Each pair she found was in pristine condition, as if waiting for someone to step into them and walk away into a new story. Ruthanne, witty and endlessly curious, began to document these discoveries in a special section of her travel blog titled “Soleful Journeys.”
Readers were captivated by the saga of the shoes. They speculated wildly in the comment sections — witchcraft, a secret admirer, or perhaps the shoes were simply manifestations of Ruthanne’s subconscious desires? With each post, the mystery deepened, and Ruthanne found herself more entangled in the enigma.
It was on a rainy afternoon in Edinburgh, beneath the somber shadow of the castle, that Ruthanne stumbled upon her next clue. A pair of tartan-patterned wellies stood at the entrance of a narrow lane, filled with the rain but empty of an owner. Attached to one of the wellies was a note that simply read, “Walk a mile in these, and you’ll find your answer.”
Puzzled but intrigued, Ruthanne slid her feet into the shoes. They were a perfect fit, as if they were made for her. With each step, the scenery around her began to shift in subtle, unimaginable ways. The grey sky cleared to a brilliant azure, the cobblestones glowed with an ethereal light, and the air thrummed with the magic of unspoken words.
She walked until the scenery fizzled out to a quaint coffee shop that seemed out of place and time, its windows fogged up and inviting. Pushing the door open, a bell chimed, and a cozy warmth enveloped her. The shop was filled with an assortment of shoes, each with their own character and story. Behind the counter stood an old woman, her eyes twinkling with the secrets of the universe.
“Ah, you’ve arrived, Ruthanne,” she said, as if expecting her.
Ruthanne, her curiosity piqued to its limits, asked, “Who are you, and why have I been finding these shoes?”
The woman’s smile widened, “I am the Keeper of Journeys, and those shoes were meant to find you. Each pair has walked a path that you’ve needed to experience — to expand your horizons, not just in the physical realm but also within the boundless territories of your heart and mind.”
“And the purpose?” Ruthanne inquired, a thread of understanding beginning to weave through her thoughts.
“To prepare you for this moment. You see, the world is vast, filled with stories that yearn to be told. By walking in the shoes of others, you’ve lived a hundred lives, and now you have a new journey ahead. To write the grandest narrative of all, one that unites the tales of many into a single tapestry of hope and discovery. This shop, and the title of Keeper, now belongs to you.”
Stunned, Ruthanne took in her surroundings once more, each pair of shoes ablaze with potential stories, waiting to be shared with the world. And so, with a heart brimming with adventure and eyes open to the endless narrative of humanity, Ruthanne stepped into her new role, forever changed by the shoes that had led her to her destiny.
(The End.)
Dozens of Pairs
Ruthanne finds it very odd how often she runs across shoes in her travels, and the resulting photos demonstrate that she’s the sort of person that’s perfect for the Residential Cruising community: curious, observant, and sharing.
Since telling others about the phenomenon, they have started noticing abandoned shoes, and taking photos, too — including me!
So look around as you move around, and maybe you’ll get the chance to wonder: where have those shoes been, and what’s their story?
Originally Published March 26, 2025 — Last Updated March 26, 2025- About the Author
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Great story! Now, I’ll start looking and photographing abandoned shoes.
ChatGPT gave me this:
Ruthanne, a traveler so bright,
Found shoes left behind in her flight.
From Venice to sand,
They’d appear at her hand,
Guiding her steps into new light.
In Edinburgh, a clue did appear,
A note with a message sincere:
“Walk in these shoes,
And you’ll find what you choose,”
A journey to hold, far and near.
Each pair that she found told a tale,
Of lives intertwined like a sail.
She walked with delight,
Into stories so bright,
As the Keeper of Journeys unveiled.
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What was your prompt to get this result? -rc
Because you asked, I started with this prompt “Can you create a limerick about a woman named Ruthanne who travels extensively and finds empty shoes (on the street and public places) wherever she goes?”
The response was barely adequate:
Ruthanne traveled the world with delight,
Finding shoes left behind day and night.
On streets and in parks,
She’d spot them in arcs,
A mystery with each pair in sight!
So I replied, “Base it on this story:”, and I cut & pasted the entire contents of your story.
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Thanks! Yeah, that first one’s pretty weak. And the second try is what I guessed you had done. 🙂 -rc
Wonderful! Thank you.
You and Kit do lead a very interesting life, and meet may intriguing characters such as Ruthanne. Best wishes for continuing adventures as you circumnavigate this globe of ours.
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You are correct! Ruthanne is a character. As are many others, including me and Kit. 🙂 -rc
To RC..NOT “me and Kit.” but KIT and I!
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Sorry, but that’s incorrect. Simplify the sentence: would it be correct to say, “As are many others, including I.”? No. It is correct as written, as is the opening of this post, “A resident Kit and I are friends with…”. Simplifying that, “A resident I am friends with” works, but “A resident me am friends with” would not. -rc
Chat GPT-4 did a really nice job with your prompt. Very scary!
I’ve always wondered about the shoes (usually sneakers/trainers) that are hanging from wires above streets or on trees. Someone told me those hanging from the wires are some of marker for gang territories, but I have no idea if that is true.
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I don’t think there’s any universal answer to that question. Some are probably some kid’s gym shoes that a bully threw up there. Others? Make up a plausible scenario and it’s probably happened. -rc
While leaving the Army, it is customary for some people to toss their boots or PT shoes over the wire. Best way to see them in the rear view mirror.
in the 70’s in los angeles, it was said that those shoes were dead gang bangers shoes. never verified.
As a world traveler several times over, I, too, am fascinated by seemingly odd items or occurrences that, at first, seem to be out of place.
I find myself, in quiet times, thinking back over some of these “finds” and letting my mind make up little tales about what they might mean.
I never thought of using AI, or any type of prompt, but perhaps now I may find a better way to try to organize my thought experiments.
Thank you for taking so many of us along on your journey.
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I’m a good writer, but not great with fiction. So using A.I. to come up with something jumped right to mind when I saw Valerie’s thought. I was very pleasantly surprised at how it came out, especially for my first try. -rc
Importantly, if Ruthanne suddenly disappears, you know what happened.
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Yes: abducted by an A.I.! 😁 -rc
I enjoyed the story. Shoes have always been a topic that I relate to — in this case I could add a dimension that most people would not have thought of — for I wear shoes that are different in size — by two sizes. So before I found Nordstroms, I always bought two pairs and got the right fit and then wound up with a new pair of mismatched shoes to do something with….
I did leave a pair of new mismatched shoes in a bag in the mall years ago and watched as someone scurried away with them — I have to wonder what they thought when they tried the shoes on. What kind of limerick would they create? Nordstroms, by the way, sells shoes fitted to each foot, therefore for me it immediately gave me a 50% savings.
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Interesting! -rc
I’m interested in the choice of Edinburgh for the keeper’s location. I wonder if it would come up again in a different scenario? Presume there is something in your instruction that prompted that choice.
An acceptable short story though (for an easy-read weekly magazine perhaps).
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There’s nothing in my prompt that suggests any location. It’s right there: you can read it for yourself. -rc
Thank you for sharing. I was reminded of a song my mother used to sing about 65 years ago while working in her kitchen: ‘Ain’t We Crazy.’ My favorite verse went as such:
It was midnight on the ocean,
Not a streetcar was in sight
As I stepped into the drugstore
To get myself a light.
The man behind the counter
Was a woman old and gray
Who used to peddle shoestrings
On the road to Mandalay.
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Excellent! -rc
I love where this story went in the short form. Perhaps a long-form Part II might follow the shoes themselves: as Ruthanne tries each pair on, they download their story into her brain, and she tells the story of the people who wore them.
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That’s the wonderful thing about short stories: they let the reader exercise their creativity and wonder, “What next?” The story did its job. -rc