Afraid of the Dark
Jack curled up against the side of a pizza parlor, between two bushes by the sidewalk. Jack was a young boy with blonde hair and blue overalls. His hands were brown with dirt and his clothes were stained from grass. While the streets bustled with morning traffic, everyone was too busy to notice him. Waiting for his bus, a tall man in a dark suit sat down on a bench beside him. After a few confused glances, the businessman approached him.
“Little boy, what are you doing?” Holding himself tighter, Jack whimpered, “I'm terrified of my shadow. Can you help me?” The man laughed. He said, “There's nothing to be afraid of little boy. Look, I’m perfectly fine out in the sun. Why don’t you join me?” But Jack’s gaze wandered back to the ground. Impatient, the businessman walked away, throwing his hands out as if to mock Jack. He had more important things to do. Jack knew his fear was unreasonable, but he was still afraid. He continued to sit alone.
Later that day, a veteran saw him. Her uniform sparkled with badges, reminders of her years at war. She crouched down to meet him. “What’s wrong, little boy?” He replied, “I'm scared of my shadow.” Confident, the woman raised her fists and assured him, “Don't worry. I will protect you!” But when the boy stood up and his darkness stretched towards the sky, she too was afraid. The woman ran before he could take a single step. Ashamed, Jack curled back up and hid. He wished he could disappear.
Shortly after, an old man found him. The man stammered with a fragile voice, “Little boy, why are you alone?” Jack wasn’t sure if he had an answer. He wasn’t sure if he wanted an answer. Jack was sure of one thing: he wanted to be alone. The man leaned on his cane, returning a warm smile. “I only want to help.” If he wanted to help, he should have left. Jack stepped out of the darkness, projecting dark appendages onto the wall behind him. The wall turned black, consumed by his figure. “Look! I am a monster!”
The man laughed. His eyes crinkled with a familiar smile. Holding out hand, he spoke softly, “It’s only scary because you're sitting in the bushes. You can’t tell the difference between their shadow and yours. Come on out; it will be ok.” Jack didn’t seem to have a choice. He took the man's hand and shuffled onto the sidewalk. Even so, he didn’t dare to turn around, afraid of what might meet him. The old man tried to comfort him, saying, “If you only face the light, you never have to see the shadows.” Jack reluctantly thanked the man and kept his eyes eastward.
He made his way to the playground, where the other kids were. Jack went straight to the swings, his favorite; but as soon as he got high enough, his shadow crept up beneath him. Jack froze with fear, falling to the ground and landing face first. No matter how hard he tried, he could not escape it. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stand to face it. Defeated, he tried to play tag with the other kids, but he couldn’t turn to run or chase them. He refused to look away from the light. Jack was angry. It was no fun being in a one-sided world. He curled up in the dirt and cried. The old man didn’t understand what it was like. He wished he was back in the bushes.
Suddenly, a girl tapped him on the shoulder. She tilted her head to the side, confused. “Can I help you?” Jack thought about it. Jack thought about everyone before her. Why did she think she could help him?  Why did he think she couldn’t? He dragged his eyes to meet her, mumbling through the tears. He said, “I wish I forgot I had a shadow. My life used to be so much better, but now I'm terrified.” The girl took his hands, saying, “It’s part of you; you can't forget it. Plus, there are lots of fun things you can do with shadows. It's fun because it's scary.”
The girl backed up and folded her hands in funny and weird ways. A shadow puppet of a dog stretched out in front of the boy. She made the dog jump and dance, sing and play. She told stories of its wild adventures and in no time at all, Jack was laughing so hard, he could barely breathe. After her story was over, Jack felt a little empty. He had grown so attached to the dog, he was sad it didn’t continue. He sprang up and asked her, “Can I try?”