Shadow { EDITING }

-||Chapter four||-

"Okay..." I hesitate.

"I..." she laughs and rubs her face with both hands, sighing loudly.

Shifting uncomfortably, I fidget with the napkin on the table, tearing its edges.

"Just say it." I urge.

"Can I borrow your shadow?"

I feel my eyes grow wide and unrecognizable noises from under my hoodie.

I think I finally understand the whole 'stranger danger' thing now.

"I-I'm sorry, can you what?"

I've never heard of people "borrowing" others shadows. What reason would there even be for something so crazy?

"I know it sounds weird-"

"It's more than weird. It's insane!" I shout.

Both of us notice the curious heads turn in our direction, some dirty for interrupting, others curious.

Natalie stays quiet while staring back at them until they carried on with whatever they were doing, glancing away from us.

She leans in closer to me, eyebrows drawn so close, I thought they'd touch. They did touch.

"There's a reason behind it. You have to trust me." she says.

"Trust a stranger I just met? Who's seemingly obsessed with something that holds my life! I don't think so." I say, getting up to leave.

"It's for an experiment." she says, scurrying to catch up and her arm outstretched as if to grab me.

I turn on my heels, inches from her face, her hand still hovering.

"Even better reason to say no." I spit, her eyes wide and offended.

I turn around and leave, the sound of the bell above the door ringing in my ears as I walk home. I run through all the kind of experiments one would want to do with such a fragile thing. Become immortal? A superhero? Super powers?

As the sun starts to set behind the clouds, I pick up my pace, practically running from paranoia.

Suddenly, headlights flood onto the black street, slowing to a crawl right behind me. I glance over my shoulder and break into a sprint, the clicking sounds from my shadow growing with my fright. As I pick up my pace, the car does too, engine loud and in need of a replacement. I turn down a narrow alley and cut into the next street, sprinting across and jamming the key into the lock, shaking.

I hear the engine, faint at first, to my right and look to see the creep of lights on the sides of the buildings coming closer. The sound of my shoes grinding against pebbles beneath me in panic further reminds me of my fear. Finally, the lock turns and I jump inside, slamming the door shut then peeking out the blinds to see the car stop down the street for several seconds before finally passing in front of the building and turning around the corner.

The room is dark and I feel my shadow crawl out of my hoodie and reach into the closet, shivering and chittering.

"Shit!" I scream.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, what have-" I yell, out of breath making my shadow start to cry.

I look into the closet with fear and anxiety.

"What have I done?"

                                                        ***

Natalie's POV:

I knew from the moment I saw her shadow that it was perfect. It's not an obsession, just a longing.

You see, my husband passed away about a year ago. Ever since then, we haven't been the same. We, meaning, my shadow and I, as well as my two children.

My longing is for a normal life. A normal shadow, a normal family.

So I intend to make another shadow. One less filled with grief and doesn't make my heart feel so heavy all the time.

The grief has gotten to all of us. Him and I had children, two beautiful daughters, married happily for twenty years.

Until it all went downhill.

I remember the phone calls he got. Sitting at the dinner table when his cell phone would start to ring and all he'd say was, "I've to take this."

We had a happy life, though there were struggles. We could all hear the shouting from behind the doors of his at-home office and the sound of glass shattering. The way it'd make all of us jump, Ana would whisper a quiet, "Mommy?" Eventually, the glass shards and phone calls piled up, devouring him.

I've got many degrees. Bio engineering, medical science, PhD, but no one sees through the stereotypical 'broke waitress' facade I put on, just to keep who's left of my family safe.

A simple experiment. A copy and paste of DNA was all I needed. I was afraid to ask so much of her, but desperation seemed to be eating me alive.

Unfortunately, I understand why the woman rejected. She was right, who would trust a stranger with such a thing? After the stomping off she had done, I took my coffee cup and left.

On the walk home, cars honked, dirty men stared, the shadows of homeless people hissed in hidden corners. Luckily, my house wasn't too far of a walk to work, about ten minutes .

As I approached my home, my shadow reaches out holding keys. I take them and unlock the door, stepping inside and hanging my apron on the back of the door.

I glance around as I shut the door and see my two, sweet, precious angels asleep on the couch. I carefully give them each a loving kiss on the forehead before escaping to the shower, where I sit at the bottom of the tub. The hot water scolds my skin, steam filling my lungs, the cold and mean hisses of my shadow above me.

And all I can wish is for everything to be normal again.

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Thought it would be helpful to see Natalie's side of everything. So if Natalie went straight home, who was in the car following Taylor? ;)