Shadow

She loved it for as long as she could remember. It was her only companion, her only guardian. Her life found terms like “parents” and “family” foreign and all her memories held was this friend; a friend who would block out the voices from the village, protect her from their prying eyes and piteous pats of comfort.

Her shadow was her only friend and her only security.

It hid her in the alley between the small store that sold sweets and the small inn. Even if she could not feel the warmth of the sun at least there she could not feel the stares on her back, either. The innkeeper had approached her many times when she thought no one was looking, always asking her questions she could not understand. Her only escape when she did not have her shadow was running until she found it again, and they were safe together and alone together. It hid her eyes when the owner of the candy store found her sleeping by the dumpster. She shook the girl relentlessly and, when she showed signs of waking, began to yell at the infamous heathen. Yet the girl understood nothing and did nothing but lower her head. When the woman let her be, all she knew was that her friend had protected her and would continue to do so every time.

And then it so happened on a gloomy day that a few girls of her own young, slight build stumbled upon her as she hummed softly to herself playing in the darkness. They pulled her from the alley, mocking and jeering her tattered rags and grimy skin, then pushed her into the mud fresh from the morning rain. As they left her the girl's shadow was cast over the puddle as she peered into it. There she saw another girl staring back at her, mocking her every movement.

She growled. Was this her shadow? Was this her friend who only hid her from the world so she felt useless and could not fend for herself?

Bitterness, an emotion she could barely understand, swelled inside of her. But before she could attack the betrayer her shadow disappeared in a distortion of ripples. It was raining, but the sky was cloudless. She wondered why her head was dry when her cheeks were wet as she ran. She ran from the village, desperately trying to escape her tormentor. She felt exposed as the rain from her eyes washed away the dirt and grime on her face, leaving nothing more than a pale, shivering mess for the world to see.

I don't want you anymore!

It was a scream from her mouth, the unfamiliarity of the sound making her feel more uncomfortable, but the shadow did not hear. She had no chance on her own, and her traitorous companion knew it.

There was no escape.

Who was she? To the world, she was just a poor little girl living in the dumpsters between the inn and the candy store. As she approached a cliff, she was becoming the sad little girl who ran away from the only life she knew. Yet as her legs were pumping and her heart was beating she knew she could run no longer, and she was lost. Her shadow somehow circled around and now loomed before her as she began to lose speed, blurred by the rain that soaked only her face.

And when she was about to succumb to her new forgotten identity, her shadow suddenly disappeared. It faded into the nothingness of a vast, dark abyss. She smiled then, standing at the edge of the cliff for seconds, hours, years. Breathing in, she felt the sun warm her back.

As she turned around and headed towards the village, facing the sunlight, her shadow trailed behind her, sulking all the way.