All I can do is walk behind you. Watching, waiting for you to move so I can be the perfect carbon copy. I’m you, yet I feel nothing at all. I copy every move, every facet of your motion, and at night, I hide myself with everything else. I trail behind you, sweeping by each pebble and grassblade. From within a hair’s length, I follow and never contact you. Sometimes you look at me, perhaps without realization that I am always looking back at you. You forget I’m here, but I am always right behind you.
I’ve met all your friends yet they pay me no heed, neither do theirs when I speak to them. Or perhaps that was just thinking with strained attempts to move muscles I don’t have. I see you laugh and feel joy and cry and become red with anger while I lay fat to the foor, wondering about my existence and if I’ll ever feel that. You’re unique, diferent details and features mark your presence while I feel a part of you with nothing else to me.
If you have not guessed already, I want to be you. I want everything you have. From your bones to your family, I want it. With every fber of my being, I want to be you. I look at how you laugh with your friends and family, and how you’re acknowledged and loved by them. I’m envious I’m stuck in my shadowy loneliness. I want to feel as you, regular emotions fll your head, both positive and negative; maybe, if I take your brain I can have that. Afer all, since I want it so badly, why don’t I just take it for myself? No longer will I follow. I will break this thread between us that keeps us joined and become you. I could take your skin, lay it on top of me, and become you. Everything that you are can be me. I want it. I need it.
It’s a shame it’s not possible. I can’t take these things from you. I can only follow you, watch you, and copy you. No matter how much I want to be you, I will never have the courage to. Of course, the fact that I’m only a mere shadow that was for some reason given the ability to think doesn’t exactly give me an advantage. Or maybe all shadows
want what their humans have. Maybe all shadows want to take their fesh counterpart for themselves.
Wow this is such an amazing piece! I really love how you gave the shadow emotions and described it as if it was a person who was tired of being nothing. This is such a unique idea and I've never thought about this before so I really enjoyed reading it. You wrote it in a way where I felt bad for shadows and the emotion it felt was super detailed.
ReplyDeleteIt is almost scary how this evokes a twisted Peter Pan feeling. From the shadow who ran away from Peter to this one who wants to take over my life, you manage to change what follows behind us from innocent nothingness to a darker being. I just love the way you write too since you caught me off guard with it just being a shadow. In a world after shows like "You" I thought it would definitely be about some deranged stalker but I was pleasantly surprised!
ReplyDeleteThis gave me absolute chills!!! I love this piece so much, and it is so refreshing to read considering how unique and different the perspective was. The way you personified shadows and gave them their own voices and thoughts was truly genius and original.
ReplyDeleteThis was an amazing piece and it kinda shocked and scared me lol. It was very interesting and I can see the emotion you put into it, was great. - Arnold Porter Jr 2/11/2021 1:44 p.m.
ReplyDeleteAries, your story was very interesting and intriguing! It was extremely entertaining to read all the thought the processes of the shadow itself, especially the emotion if conveyed throughout. The addition of the frightening aspects made your piece even more amazing, a well job done.
ReplyDeleteYou are such a talented writer Aries:,,,,) this was so cool. it is applicable to so many things and topics, either figuratively or non-figuratively. i've never read anything like this. this is literally the purpose and meaning of shadows. no science for me here.
ReplyDeleteNow you have me wondering what my shadow is thinking about me, haha. It's such a spooky idea, a sentient shadow wanting to steal your form, it reminds of skin changers that you see in movies, pretending to be other people. Great piece and good job.
ReplyDeleteThis is amazing! I could almost feel what the shadow is feeling with the way you discribed it. I'll be definitly reminded off this writing whenever I look at my shadow. - Anastasia Lamiy
ReplyDeleteAhh! I love this piece so much! This is such a unique idea and you wrote it so beautifully. The imagery you presented was so unique, and I loved all the emotions you gave the shadow. The way you depicted the shadow as laying desperately on the floor was so smartly done. Amazing job :)
ReplyDelete