Shadows by Len Thomas (little readers txt) 📕

Chapter 1 – Tsuki
My eyes flew open. Darkness - but I was not alone. Oh, no - she never leaves me alone. Its spooky how no matter how far I run and even when I loose sight of her she never looses sight of me. She’s a ghost a dark ghost, which is a shame because it means she’s completely invisible in he dark. She doesn’t harm me or acts violently towards me, she doesn’t even try to communicate with me - although I know she can.
And, like any other sunrise, the sun seemed to grow larger as it glided over the hillside and filled this small room with light. That’s when I saw her. Her black translucent body stood out in the morning light it almost seems wrong for her to be in this setting. I wanted to move her take her to a cave or a deserted alleyway; she’d fit in there. But no, that would feel wrong also…for many different reasons.
Why? Why does she haunt me? I’ve travelled further away from my home-town than I dare to imagine and it wasn’t even worth the effort. Well I give up – in – whatever! I have an eerie feeling, though, that part of me, somehow but I don’t exactly know how…I just want to know what she is.
“I’m your shadow, Tsuki.” What was that? Am I hearing things or did she just talk?
I stayed silent. So did she.
Then it struck me. She just answered the question I was thinking.
“Wait. What? How do you know what I’m thinking?” I asked still rigid from waking abruptly like that.
“Because I am you, Tsuki. I am your shadow. And you shouldn’t be able to see me.” She started to pace as she muttered the last sentence as if thinking really hard about what to do about a ‘problem’.
We stayed like this, silent, for another couple of minutes. But it could have been hours for all I knew.
It was agonizing so I broke in first, “Why can I see you?” – seemed the most obvious question to ask, but I don’t think even she knew the answer. Whoever she was.
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” she said almost to herself. She continued to pace for a further immeasurable length of time. I couldn’t stand it anymore the whole awkwardness of not understanding anything, the silence and the fact that I may be a complete and utter freak of nature. And the worst part was that I didn’t know which was worst.
She finally stopped pacing - even I felt dizzy after that marathon. She grabbed me by the arm, something both of us were surprised she could do, and pulled me up. I was already dressed; I had no other clothes so I had to sleep in my day clothes. Unsteady on my feet I stumbled as she dragged me through the door of the makeshift flat and out of the building on to the almost deserted street.
I was so confused my mind took a while to catch up with my bodies unwilling movements and by the time it did I was already on the bus with her and heading to a new place – Yay!
I was really starting to get tired of the whole travelling; even the idea of it makes me sick. Or that could just be the stuffy, overcrowded rickety bus that went round this small town. Well we can’t all be rich and famous and drive around in a Ferrari or Limo.

Chapter 2 – Akako
“Man! This is what I call RELAXING!” I exclaimed as I stretched out on the leather exterior of the roomy back seat of my Limo.
Nothing could beat this life-style; son of the CEO of a large, fast-expanding company, huge house and tonnes of fun!
Then IT happened. Well to be precise it was a SHE, but it still happened.
As my car turned the corner i saw out of the corner of my eye a shadow. I know for me that's not strange because I'm a 'pure' and see everyone's shadow. But this one was conversing with its subject, the human it originated from. And the young girl was REPLYING? This was just wrong. Unbelievably wrong. I hurriedly made the driver follow the bus they were on and ended up following them all the way to the next town.

Publication Date: 10-27-2010

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