“I looked at the shoes and saw the priest who’d worn them—old and alone and looking for fulfillment in ways that only those more pious than myself can understand. Let me help, I told the shoes. Let me find your symbiotic partner.”

Its convoluted logic and resulting actions cause the exact opposite of the apparent intention: to, even symbolically, help a priest achieve fulfillment.

Though it seems that the Tin House editorial board was very loose with its interpretation of meeting the perceived “requirements” of the plotto prompt. For example, in what universe could one possibly interpret stealing shoes off a passed out drunk as being the same as picking up a pair of cast-off shoes. They weren’t cast-off, they were on his feet! Also, I can certainly see how a man passed out drunk in a doorway would be seen as reckless, but how would we consider this “someone” to have a “shady” reputation, as he’s presented as a stranger?

I think the editorial staff might want to indicate that these prompts are just meant to get an entry started, and that their details are not meant to be considered as requirements for the entry.