The Stone In My Shoe

There is a stone in my shoe, I’ve tried to shake it out, but when I take my shoe off and shake, nothing falls out, I rub my sock, but there is nothing there. I put my shoe back on and there it is again, a stone in my shoe.  
I must have taken off my shoe ten times or more that first day searching for this phantom stone with no success, in the end I changed my shoes but still the stone was there.    
By the end of the day my foot was sore and quite bruised.    
The next day I tried a different pair of shoes, but sure enough I had a stone in my shoe which I couldn’t shake out.    
By the end of the week my foot had swelled so badly I had to go to the doctors, the doctor couldn’t explain the stone or lack there of, but prescribed me some anti inflammatories, some pain killers, and suggested I try alternative types of footwear.    
I’ve tried trainers, sandals, flip flops boots, clogs, every time I put on shoes, there is a stone, one that I can’t find or shake out.    
   
Yesterday as I limped down the road, I saw a man walking barefoot, he was dressed in a suit and tie and for all intents and purposes looked perfectly respectable, apart from of course his bare feet.    
I stopped the man and asked “Excuse me sir, why are you not wearing any shoes?”    
He looked at me and replied in a matter of fact manner, “Because there was a stone in my shoe!”    
Then smiled the contented smile of a lunatic, and walked off down the road with a bounce in his step.    
“Crazy bastard” I thought, as I limped to the doctors to get some super strong opioid based painkillers to deal with the discomfort of the phychosomatic stone in my shoe.