The Last Shadow

It had been raining over the city all night. The muddy streets were filled with water, still as deep mirrors, reflecting the trembling glow of flickering streetlights. Ali stood by the window, breathing in the cold air. Something felt different today—his heartbeat whispered that something was coming, something that would echo for years to come.

Ali was an ordinary man, but his questions were never ordinary. He often wondered: If humans can build the world, why do they keep destroying it? Why does every face carry a shadow strong enough to extinguish the light of humanity? But tonight, one thought kept returning to him—

“The shadow is back.”

Strange stories had been spreading in the city for days. People claimed that at night, a dark figure had begun appearing. Shaped like a human, with glowing red eyes and breath cold as frozen mist. They said it targeted those who carried fear or hatred inside them. Ali would always laugh at such stories, thinking they were nothing but human-made myths.

But tonight… was different.

At three in the morning, a loud knock struck his door. Ali jumped.

“Who could it be at this hour…?”

When he opened the door, a girl stood outside—soaked from the rain, hair clinging to her face, clothes covered in mud, and eyes holding a fear so deep it looked like she had run through the entire world to reach him.

“Please… let me in!” she gasped.

Ali stepped aside instantly.

“What happened? Who are you running from?”

Her voice trembled as she sat on a chair.

“He’s coming for me. He’s not human… though he looks like one. The Shadow. He feeds on fear.”

Ali froze for a second.

“You mean the same shadow people keep talking about? But that’s just a story—”

“No!” she cried, shaking. “He’s real! And he’s coming to kill me! They say he only hurts those with evil in their hearts… but I’ve done nothing wrong! Why is he after me?”

Ali felt there was truth in her words. Suddenly, heavy footsteps echoed through the street—slow, rhythmic, unnatural.

The girl shivered.

“He’s here…”

Ali looked out of the window. Through the fog, he saw it—

A black silhouette gliding over the ground, shaped like a man but with two burning red eyes.

“What… what is that?” Ali whispered.

Within seconds, the shadow reached the door.

“Hiding won’t help… You know why I’m here.”

The voice seeped through the walls like something spoken inside a cave.

The girl covered her face, crying.

“I swear, I’ve done nothing wrong! Why me?”

The shadow replied, “I feed on fear… and you live in fear. Your heart is dark because of it. I am drawn to that darkness.”

Ali stepped in front of her.

“If fear is a crime, then every human is guilty! You should consume the whole city then!”

The shadow turned its glowing eyes toward him.

“You… you have little fear. But you carry the burden of others. You are the light that burns me.”

Ali didn’t back away.

“You can’t touch her. She’s not alone anymore.”

The shadow let out a low, eerie laugh.

“Humans claim to be light… but they create the very darkness they fear.”

Ali replied firmly,

“That’s true. But if darkness comes from humans, then light comes from them too. And tonight, I choose to be the light.”

Something shifted in that moment. The girl's trembling slowed. A strange courage flickered inside her, as if someone had protected the small flame within her heart. The shadow began retreating, like the light was scorching him.

“Remember…” the shadow said as it dissolved into the mist,

“Humans are not killed by darkness… but by their own fear. Defeat your fear, and I cease to exist.”

And then it vanished.

The rain outside softened.

The girl took a deep breath, relief finally reaching her trembling voice.

“You saved my life… but how?”

Ali smiled gently.

“I didn’t do anything. I just reminded you that you aren’t alone. Sometimes the brightest light is simply someone giving you courage… and that alone can shatter the darkest shadows.”

For the first time, the girl felt her fear weaken—not disappear, but shrink into something she could face.

The night grew peaceful again, but Ali knew the shadow might return someday.

Still, he wasn’t afraid.

Because once a human stands against their own fear…

no shadow can defeat them.