SHADOWS

Shadows are everywhere whenever there is light!

I’m rather attached to mine. It plays about - sometimes beside me, behind or ahead of me, but always there – it hides in the dark – but I know it will pop out again as soon as a light shines.

Sometimes it’s quite small (almost inside me), other times it is quite long and stretches out quite a way. There are even times when light shines from several directions that my shadows’ brothers appear – and there can be several of them.

Shadows are sociable; they mingle with shadows of other people, animals and objects. Silently gliding along they sometimes play games and hide in amongst the other shadows.

They are companionable without being obtrusive because they don’t make a sound.

Shadows can silently tell others I’m coming by racing ahead at corners and show others where I am. That can be good or bad depending on whether I want to be seen and I have to be aware of what that rascal shadow is up to.

There is a figure of speech – “casting a shadow”, and “throwing a shadow” though I’ve never actually seen anyone physically do that. After all they are attached and you can’t pick one up. You can touch them (after a fashion) and they strangely feel like the object they are resting on.

I can point at my shadow, and as I get closer to it, it points right back and eventually touches my finger.

As I walk along, my shadow springs out of my feet and runs around me (depending on which way the light is shining). I’d be quite lost and lonely without my shadow as I’m sure everyone else would be too if they lost theirs.

It’s funny I suppose that for someone who’s always with me that I’ve never given him a name – just shadow!

I can talk to him, but it’s all one-sided and he never does anything exciting. Rather dull really, he just ‘sticks with me’. Though when I think about it he does sometimes run ahead of me and runs up the leg of the person ahead of me as I approach. Good thing they can’t feel him!

It can also be a good thing for others if they are looking at me and looking towards the sun – they can “step into my shadow” and it can be quite a relief to them. So I guess he’s helpful at times.

So without a ”shadow of a doubt” it could be quite a bother if we didn’t have our shadows?