Mia didn't like the dark.
When the lights went out, she felt alone. So alone.
But one night, she noticed something. Her shadow, cast by the nightlight, seemed to wave at her.
"Did you just move?" Mia whispered.
The shadow nodded.
"I'm always here," said the shadow. Its voice was soft, like silk.
"Even in the dark?" asked Mia.
"Especially in the dark," said the shadow. "That's when you need me most. I'm the part of you that's brave when you don't feel brave. I'm the part that stays when everything else seems scary."
Mia had never thought about her shadow that way.
"Can you protect me from monsters?" Mia asked.
The shadow smiled. "There are no monsters. But if there were? I would grow very, very big." The shadow stretched across the whole wall, tall and strong.
Mia laughed. It felt good to laugh in the dark.
From then on, Mia wasn't afraid of the dark.
She knew her shadow was there, stretched out beside her or tucked small beneath her pillow.
Some nights she would whisper, "Goodnight, shadow."
And her shadow would wave.
You are never really alone. Even your shadow loves you.
THE END