This short story is about a 5-year-old who finds an unusual companion. However, he later finds out something mind-boggling about it which teaches him a valuable life lesson.
I waved at him and he waved back. Then, I tried talking but he wouldn't talk back. I moved closer but he moved away. I started to walk away but I noticed he was following me. I ran and he started running too. I stopped, he stopped too. It was clear to me from the moment I met him that he was no ordinary 5-year-old. He was something different. I tried asking him why he looks the way he looks... but he wouldn't speak either which is why all we did was play copy-cat.
I usually played copy-cat with my sister, but she would get fed up with it almost immediately. But, he was playing with me the whole afternoon! I was tired of calling him "him". He couldn't talk or write so I had no way of knowing his name. Therefore I decided to name him Flynn as it rhymes with my name Lynn. I was having the time of my life with Flynn but then my mother interrupted our playing and told me that it was time to go home. My mother was not able to see Flynn although he was right in front of her. Weird. As I started leaving, I noticed that Flynn was still following me. I told him to stop playing copy-cat as it had gotten very unexciting. He didn't listen though; he kept copying me till evening.
Nighttime is my least favourite as it is very gloomy and terrifying. I asked Flynn to be with me throughout the night as I was petrified of the dark but when my mother tucked me into bed and switched off the lights, Flynn vanished! I started crying as I was positive that there was a ghost in my room who took children away. My mother upon hearing my wailing approached my room and turned the lights on. Flynn reappeared almost immediately. I was relieved. But he disappeared again as soon as my mother turned off the lights! WHAT A TRAITOR!!!!! He left me alone in the dark even when I specifically asked him to stay by my side throughout the night.
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I woke up the next day, upset. I told my mother how Flynn betrayed me. My mother rolled her eyes at me and walked towards my father. They were whispering, but I could still hear them
"I'm concerned about Lynn", said my Mother. She further started telling my father about my "pretend friend". My father sat beside me and told me he'd like to meet Flynn. I told him that I didn't want to meet Flynn after what he did to me. My Father wanted to say something to me, but he held back. He gave me a peck on the cheek and left for work.
It was my grandmother's birthday today. She lived a block away and I visited her frequently. My mother told me to play in the neighbourhood park till evening and later head towards grandma's house. Flynn kept following me all the way to the park but I ignored him the whole time. It was getting late so I proceeded towards grandma's house. I noticed Flynn was still following me. I thought I would forgive him so I turned around and found Flynn to be 10 times his original size.
I stepped back and so did the giant Flynn. He was so big that he could stomp on me and that'd be the end. As I moved backward, Flynn stepped forward and got bigger. Panic overtook me, my legs stopped working, and I fell down so did Flynn. I felt a twig in my hand. I gathered the courage to stand up. Flynn was also doing the same. I clutched the twig tightly in my right hand and I remembered how Harry Potter had fought a Flynn-looking thing with a spell. I confidently screamed "EXPECTUM PATRONIUM" and charged towards Flynn with my eyes shut as tightly as possible.
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I then felt a bright light shining at me so I gradually opened my eyes. There was a street light in front of me, I couldn't see Flynn anywhere. I glanced at my feet and saw Flynn. He wasn't huge this time; he was petite and small.
I saw my father rushing towards me with my sister and mother following him. They were worried that I had gotten lost. I enlightened everyone with the story of how I heroically defeated Flynn by using EXPECTUM PATRONIUM. Turns out it was "expecto patronus" but expectum patronium worked just fine on Flynn. My father requested to witness Flynn. I pointed towards my feet. My father looked confused at first, but then he burst into laughter.
Why would he laugh!? Flynn tried to kill me!
Apparently, Flynn was a "shadow". Father told me everyone has a shadow. He demonstrated how Flynn increased and decreased in size because of the positioning of the street lights.
I learned a valuable lesson from this life experience. I learned to keep my face towards sunshine and shadows will fall behind me, but if I succumb to the shadows I will have to face a huge FLYNN.
