Shadow: a dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface.
Why do shadows exist? What purpose do they offer to us? Shade during the blistering summer, protecting us from the blazing beams from the sun?
A shadow and a living person are essentially the difference between the third dimension and the second one. As living being, we're given free roam. The ability to walk, run, jump, or fall wherever we want. You can look at us from any angle and we'll have sides.
A shadow has none of those traits. Sure they can move around, but in very limited directions. A shadow doesn't have multiple sides. Only a front and a back. Or…could you even tell what the front and back are? Do two dimensional creatures even have a front and back, or is it just one side?
What if a Shadow were 3-dimensional? Would they have a physical body that you can feel? Would they even be called shadows anymore? Or would they be an entirely new species of life? Just a living body shrouded in darkness. Would we be in an entirely new dimension? What would it look like? How would it function?
No…something like that wouldn't truly be a shadow anymore. A shadow is something that is reflected, not something alive. It's an empty, hollow shell of yourself, something without depth or life. Proof that you walk in the third dimension. If a shadow were in the third dimension, it would no longer be a shadow. It'd be an entirely new being, surrounded in darkness.
But would darkness even have a shadow? They have a physical body, but would the light give them a shadow, or would the light simply be swallowed by their bodies? Would they even be able to touch things? Touch us? If so, what would they feel like?
Cold?
Empty?
Lukewarm?
Would darkness ever co-exist with humans? Or would they simply swallow us whole until there's nothing left? Like a black hole swallowing everything in its path? Maybe not, since black holes are four dimensional.
As a kid, I've always been scared of shadows. The way they dance and linger, like they're about to jump out at you any second like a cheetah chasing down a gazelle. Sometimes late at night, I'd see one looking as if it were staring right at me, completely still. The night light I had next to my bed made it look huge. At least three times my size, looming over me as if it were God judging me.
However, something inside me changed how I felt about them. As the years went by, I've grown to be more scared of people than of my shadows. I've been hurt by them more times than I can count, and yet this shadow of my that looms over my head has never once lashed out at me. If anything, you could say that it looked to be watching over me. Protecting me from anything that might try to hurt me in my sleep.
I felt safe. Under my blanket with my shadow watching over me. Though the light was nice, I felt even more safe in the darkness.
*SQUELCH!*
Or so I thought.
One thing I never thought about was the existence of other shadows outside of mine.
I woke up to something cold buried deep into my flesh. As my eyes opened, the warmth in my body felt as if it were fainting. Even when I was under my blanket, I still grew colder and colder as that sharp chill continued to bury into my flesh over and over again. The sounds of squelching liquid and crunching bones echoed through my ears.
My mouth was covered, but I made no effort to make a sound. Instead, I watched as my shadow was getting stabbed by another. Splashes of its blood flying upwards as what looked to be a knife continued to plunge into its body. Just like me, it too remained perfectly still.
I ignored the pain growing more and more intense throughout my body as the sharp chill suddenly turned molten hot. Something warm slowly oozed up my throat and out of my mouth, a very raw and metallic taste. I didn't my best to ignore it all and watched as my shadow continued to loom over me.
I knew that it couldn't protect me from the dangers of the world, but it at least watched over me. Even in death. I don't need god, or a family, or friends, or even a lover to watch over me.
I'm perfectly fine with just my shadows.