My Shadow

MOI

My shadow left last night. Without a word. It peeled itself off my feet while I was asleep and went out through the window.

At first I was offended. We have lived together since I was born, after all. Thirty years of loyal service: it followed me everywhere, it lay down when I lay down, it grew taller in the evening without ever complaining. And then one day, poof. Gone.

But thinking about it, I understand. It is no fun, being a shadow. Always on the floor. Always behind. Never allowed to shine, since by definition you are the place the light does not reach.

So this morning I left the window open. And on the sill I left a note: “Take your time. Go and see the sun up close, for once. But if you are cold one evening, you know where to find me. I am keeping your place. It will always be yours.”

I have lived without a shadow ever since. People look at me strangely in the street. But I smile, because somewhere out there a little patch of night is, for the first time, on holiday. And honestly, that is worth a few stares.