🖤 The Day My Shadow Stopped Following Me

It took place on a Tuesday. A forgettable one.

It's not the kind of Tuesday when major events occur.

Not a vacation.

Not a significant event.

It was just another ordinary, deserted Tuesday, and even the sky appeared weary of acting as though it cared.

I was half listening to the sound of traffic and half thinking as I walked down Main Street. when I noticed it:

My shadow was gone.

Not concealed. Not weak. Simply put, not there.

At first, I laughed. attributed it to angles, clouds, or my mind playing tricks once more.

However, I halted.

slowly turned.

gazed at the sidewalk below.

Nothing.

No outline.

No echo.

No darkness that was familiar.

And I experienced an unidentified feeling for the first time in years.

Don't be afraid. Not liberty. Just... quiet.

I had a past with my shadow.

It accompanied me in each chapter:

I acted as though I wasn't scared during those nights.

I wished I hadn't woken up during the mornings.

I became proficient at the lie "I'm fine" during those years.

through a childhood filled with more shouting than singing.

Through a love that fled before it even understood how to remain.

My shadow had been faithful.

It never left me.

Not even when I left myself.

Why now, then?

I got the answer from a stranger sitting on a bench.

She was humming. Gently. calmly. As if she had nothing more to show the world.My shadow had been faithful.

It never left me.

Not even when I left myself.



Why now, then?



I was brave enough not to sit next to her.

I was tired, so I sat.

I believe she was aware of it.

She said without glancing at me, "You seem like someone who's lost something."

I answered, too exhausted to joke, "My shadow."

She grinned with her entire being, not just her lips.

"That's good," she remarked. "Signs you're prepared."

What are you prepared for?

She didn't respond.

Perhaps she didn't have to.

because I neglected to turn on the lights when I got home that evening.

I felt something I hadn't felt in years as I stood alone in the dark in my apartment's doorway:

Silence.

I am present.

Only the authentic kind.

The kind that makes you clutch the ground and question whether anyone can hear your soul seeping through your eyes.

I sobbed for everything:

For those I attempted to save when I was unable to save myself.



I sobbed for everything:



For those I attempted to save when I was unable to save myself.



or the nights I lived but did not survive.

No miracle solution.

However, something minor.

holy.

The silence no longer felt like a punishment.

It was peaceful.

What about my shadow?

It had not returned.

I get it now.

It didn't abandon me to harm myself.

It thought I could finally carry myself, so it went.be tormented to know that I had made it through it.

It didn't leave me.

It released me.

💬 If you continue to live in your shadow, if you continue to scoff at kindness, or if you continue to arm yourself with sarcasm...

If you still feel like a fake in your own skin when you wake up...

Hear this, please:

One day, perhaps a dull Tuesday, your shadow will no longer follow you.

And you don't lose yourself in that situation.

At last, you encounter yourself.

❤️ Please share this story if it resonated with you. It's possible that someone else is also anticipating the day when their shadow ends.