Shifting Shadows
As the sun melted into the horizon and darkness seeped into the earth, two shadows came alive. They twisted and jerked away from their daytime prison and emerged free to roam the night. The first shadow stretched long bony fingers over the grass. As he walked, ice crystalized and spread from one green blade to the next. Frost coating the land. The second shadow launched into the air and cracked her wings open, flapping once, twice, and spinning higher. A white glow began at her head then pulsed down her spine, all the way to the tip of her tail where the light was whipped away. Another glow pulsed and was whipped next to it and the two sparkling orbs stuck, decorating the empty sky. The shadow soared and spun higher, shooting more stars from her tail.
On the ground, the bony fingers of the first shadow moved over trees. Flakes of frost froze over the bark and the leaves, glimmering under the soft shine of the stars. Winter’s cool breeze came with the whip of the first shadow’s long dark cloak as he spun in this direction and that. He flicked up his ceremonial hood as he walked and touched a few lower branches before he left the forest.
The two shadows travelled together. One on the ground while the other soared through the sky. The light of the heavens and the natural chill of the night followed them as they went. Soon they entered human territory and were careful to shift out of sight. A frosty finger to a window there, a mere handful of stars to the sky there and the shadows hurried away for fear of being caught.
Coming to a wide field, the second shadow flew playful circles around the first while dipping her tail onto a single flower. A glow appeared inside its petals and escaped in a multitude of tiny lights when it bloomed as if releasing floating spheres of new possibilities. The first shadow looked at his colleague in annoyance. He stretched out his bony hands and froze the flower, stopping its unnatural glow. The flying menace glared at him but he turned and walked away, carrying on his work to frost the ground as he went.
The second shadow huffed and flapped. She dove over his head and planted another beautiful light into a flower right in front of him. He froze, icy steam rising from his shoulders. As soon as he corrected the unnatural existence of that flower, another one was lit up by her. It became a war. One shadow bounced over the field and sparked lights with her shining tail, while the other snuffed it out with a cold touch.
It was a repeated cycle, until the first shadow had enough. He jumped onto the second shadow’s back in a leap of frustration. Startled, she raised her wings and soared straight up, wobbling at the imbalance of her frosty passenger. Terrified of heights, he let a shower of ice rain from him, coating the field below in a thick snow. The touch of his bony fingers made frost freeze over her wings and she pulled them against her with instinctive protectiveness.
The two shadows came plummeting to the ground. Their fall was broken by the deep cushioning snow that lay over the entire field. The first shadow landed on his back with a thud. He begrudgingly sat up and looked shocked at the amount of cold he had produced in one area. There were no more flowers. The ground was covered by a flawless white blanket. Falling snowflakes still rained and joined their brothers in the uniform white covering the land. It was the traditional sight of the season and the first shadow nodded in approval, but the second shook her head dizzily and blinked at the sight. She soon turned an accusing glare to her colleague and got up with a staggering limp.
The second shadow turned away from the first and strode away with angry determination. She stood in the centre of the field and willed her aching wings to open. Letting warm glows spark down her spine, she shook her wings and forced the frost gathered on them to melt and fling away in a cloud of sparkles that soon fizzed out into nothing. Now feeling stronger, she swished her tail like a cat. Her rival watched with distant caution as she stretched, wringing out the stiffness of her joints and readying herself for action.
With a sudden leap, she launched herself into the sky once more and soared high, free from the frosty touch of her adversary. Once so high that she was framed by the full moon, she twisted and fell into a nose dive. Gaining velocity, she descended with fearsome determination. The first shadow stood and watched in horror as she fell faster with no sign of spreading her wings to save herself. He became worried for his own safety and knelt down to the ground. Spreading his bony fingers over the snow, he lifted his arms as he stood again and a thick ice wall formed in front of him just as the impact from the second plummeting shadow caused a tidal wave of flying snow.
White flakes swirled around from the aftermath and slowly settled like dust after an explosion. The first shadow stepped from behind his wall and peered out hesitantly, expecting to see the mangled body of his former colleague but the snow fell to reveal her standing strong. The sight was impressive. Her wings were wide and framing her being in a perfect landed stance. Air created from the sudden spread of her wings had pushed the snow in a strong gust, revealing the ground bare for a few meters around her. She stood in the centre of the field and straightened herself with a strong posture. Their eyes met.
Together, they expected the field and both spotted a lone flower, bent and damaged from the struggle that was raged around it. The two shadows gave each other a competitive glare and took off at the same time. They raced for the conquest of the only flower left on the field. The first shadow used his outstretched arm to create an icy slide to glide over, increasing his speed. The second shadow jumped into the air and also glided but on her ghostly wings.
Their epic power struggle ended with something neither of them expected – the two outstretched arms of a small human girl. She stood with her legs over the flower and gave a halt signal to each of the shadows. The apparitions stopped dead in their tracks with a tiny hand at each of their chests. The fair skinned human shot an angry look at them both and they submitted to her demanding demeanour.
Seeing she was in control, the girl lowered her arms and turned her attention to the poor flower. She touched the delicate petals and looked around, her eyes sparking with a new idea. She sat cross-legged and began plucking blades of grass that were still unfrozen. The shadows shared a confused glance and watched the tiny girl as she began weaving pieces of grass and twigs together. Once she had completed a perfect circle, she picked the precious flower and weaved it in also.
Suddenly, the girl looked at the first shadow and extended a hand towards his. He hesitantly let her take his bony fingers and touch them to her handiwork. Ice sparked from his touch and froze the weaved grass. The flower became stiff, its beauty arrested in a half bloom and preserved by the cold. Released by the child, the first shadow looked proud and filled with superiority, but then the girl reached for the second shadow.
Following her guide, the shadow allowed a glowing pulse to deposit a perfect orb of light from her tail. The girl positioned the orb to perfectly fit into the icy petals which bounced the light back at it, adding to the novel beauty. The small girl placed her weaved crown of her head in accomplishment and smiled. The two shadows looked at her in awe and then at each other, a smile slipping onto their faces also.
