Shadow { EDITING }

-||Chapter one||-

I reach up, screwing the bulb into it's place, quickly lighting up the room and almost blinding myself in the process. Crawling down the ladder, I start to fold it when the exact light I just put in starts to hum then suddenly shatters. The darkness that spills the room is instant. The only light is from the setting sun through the blinds, sending sliced rays onto the floor.

I glare into the open closet, frowning.

"We agreed to at least one. You remember that?" I ask, folding my arms over my chest.

Small gurgling noises come from the darkness.

"Those cost me money."

Quiet, hissing laughter erupts, making me sigh.

"I'm glad you find that so amusing." I shake my head, unwrapping another bulb from the cardboard.

Loud clicking and hissing comes from the dark closet.

"I don't care. I have work to do and I need light to do so."

Unfolding the ladder again, I screw the bulb in, lighting up the whole room once more.

"Do not." I say, stepping down from the ladder.

The flickering figure shifts, making clicking noises when the light starts to hum again and my head whips up to stare into the closet.

"I swear to god."

It snickers back and the humming stops, making me smile.

"Like a child." I mumble, shaking my head and still smiling.

Disagreeing hissing come suddenly.

"I'm kidding. Calm down. Learn to take a joke." I laugh.

After collecting the glass shards, I grab my laptop and plop down on the bed, plunging into work. After several minutes of typing, I hear scraping coming from the dark closet.

"Come on. You can do it." I reassure.

A spiny hand appears on the wall and reaches out to the shadow behind the bookshelf and gurgles, leaping into the empty space.

"Almost there." I smile.

Now it extends another arm behind the dresser at the foot of my bed, jumping into the casted shadow made from the light on the ceiling.

I hear it sigh and it's clicks getting louder.

"Hang on buddy." I say, grabbing a blanket.

I get up and walk over to it, casting an immediate shadow on the wall that it jumps into. I carefully move them both across the wall and into the dark corner of the ceiling above my bed. I drop the blanket on the bed and stare up at my shadow, happy.

"Better?"

It makes an agreeing sound, like a thankful squeal.

I giggle.

"Your welcome."

Scooting into my spot once again, it reaches out again, this time toward the shadow my legs are making on the bed.

"Pick a spot and stay there dude." I smile, but regardless, move my shadow closer to it.

As soon as it's by my side, my legs turn icy cold.

"First a child now a dog." I tease but it only gives a tired grumble in return.

Looking over at the alarm clock, I realize how late it is. Careful not to move my legs, I reach across the wall and turn the light off. Immediately, I feel my shadow start to stir and make it's way up the bed before finally plunging into my chest and into my soul, instantly resting us both. 

                                                                  ***

You're wondering what is happening. So here's the deal.

We're in a different universe than you. Where our shadows are alive.

I have a shadow. We all do. It either walks with us, where your shadow would be made by the sun, or it rests in your soul. My shadow, during the day (since I work from home) stays in my closet. No shadow can stay in the light for very long or it dies. If your shadow dies, you die.

They travel through other dark places. Behind things, corners, under stuff etc. As long as your shadow is alive, you're alive.

Now with the soul thing, this part is weird. During the day your shadow can't rest in your soul. Well, I guess it can, if you're taking a nap or something. But if you're walking down the street and your shadow leaps into your soul, you immediately fall asleep. That's what happens when they go in there.

Depending on what you've been through, every shadow is different. If you've had a difficult life (PTSD, previous addiction, stress) than your shadow isn't a good one. When you both rest, your shadow fills your head with dreams from things that have happened to you. If you had a hard life, your dreams are filled about it every night. These are the people with depression, insomnia, etc. If something good happens your shadow will remind you of it, so sometimes people aren't like that all their lives.

If you have a good shadow, you've had a decent life. When you rest your shadow fills your dreams with constant positive things.

I have a good shadow.

Oh, that reminds me. Your shadow isn't your friend, or pet or anything like that. Your shadow is just your shadow. Nothing else.

The bad part is your shadow can turn against you. It rarely happens. Only to people that have anything but an easy life. These are usually the ones that commit suicide, or kill their own shadow which, obviously, kills them.

As I wake in the morning, my shadow is already in the closet, gurgling.

Early bird.

"I want to get breakfast at the place across the street again. Be ready in twenty." I say, stretching and sliding off the bed.

What I mean by that is I keep things that would keep my shadow safe from the light if we go outside, stored in it's closet. If I say 'be ready in twenty', it has to be in a bag or a hoodie, ready to go. Some people carry their shadow in a bag or a suitcase. Some wear coats or a hoodie. Some people carry umbrellas or just let their shadow walk in their casted shadow from the sun.

My shadow doesn't like not being close to me, so it doesn't like bags. We like hoodies. Where it can snuggle against my back, chest or the hood (if it's up).

Your shadow doesn't look like anything. It transforms and shifts to fit in shadowed places. It kinda just takes up the entire space it's in. They have limbs, but only if they reach (which is what we call it when they jump from one dark place to another to travel).

Shadows can turn against other shadows. Here, that's murder. If your shadow kills another person's shadow, you are a murderer. You and your shadow are one. Same mind, feelings, thoughts. Like your identical twin. If you want to hurt someone, your shadow does too.

I quickly brush mascara on and walk over to the closet.

"You ready?" I ask.

I'm met with excited clicking noises.

Smiling, I step into the closet and slide a hoodie over my head. I feel my shadow creep in the front and nestle against my stomach, making a cold shudder run through me.

"Alright. Off we go." I say, closing and locking the apartment door behind me.