Shadows - Chapter Last

Story so far:

Chapter 8
Chapter 7
Chapter 6
Chapter 5
Chapter 4
Chapter 3
Chapter 2
Chapter 1


Aunt Padmini squealed with a mixture of emotions that comprised of relief and wonder when she saw Sapna sitting on the bed, talking with Swapnil. She couldn’t believe her eyes. Just a few moments ago Sapna had disappeared, leaving behind her shadow. The shadow had gradually vanished, and Sapna was back with her.

Tears of joy filled her eyes, and the warm drops flowed through her cheeks, soothing her skin that had turned cold and numb with fright. The children sat talking as if nothing had happened. They were giggling, laughing and joking. Aunt Padmini finally could smile.

“Are you fine, children?” Padmini asked, just to confirm she wasn’t dreaming.

The children answered in unison without looking at her, “Yes aunty, absolutely fine.”

So that was it. It was all probably a bad dream, a nightmare that she had evolved in her mind. There was no need of sacrifice, no need of worry. The kids were safe, hale and hearty. Aunt Padmini turned around, and walked towards her room. It had been a strenuous day. She needed rest.

Things were finally back to normal according to Aunt Padmini. If only she had looked closer, she would have known the truth.

“What happened?” Swapnil asked in a low voice, once he was sure Aunt Padmini was nowhere around their room.

Sapna looked back at him with her big red eyes, “I do not know. Somehow I found myself transported to the world of humans when the lights went off. It was difficult there. People stared as if they had never seen a dark creature. Some even ran in fear, thinking me to be a ghost. At the same time, the human Sapna was transported to our world.”

“Ha ha ha,” Swapnil laughed. He found it very amusing. There had been instances when he too was transported to the human world, and had noticed his complexion turning all black. People had gazed at him in wonder. But before they realized anything, he was transported back to his own world – the world of Shadows.

They belonged to the world of Shadows, where they lived with several other beings of their kind. However, when humans played with their shadowy forms, some entities from the Shadow world were instantly transported to the human world, and their human substitutes took their place in the Shadow world. The switch lasted for only a few hours, and the shadows and the humans exchanged their places to get back in their own surroundings soon after. The humans never realized that they were moving from one world to another, as they visualized this as part of their dreams.

Aunt Padmini had accidently invited the shadows to her house through her act of misdeed. The shadows used it as their key station now. Every now and then, a new shadow would come and live in this house with Aunt Padmini, some visible to her, some she chose to ignore.

Padmini had suffered a major mental shock when her mother died. She never recovered from it. She couldn’t differentiate between dark and bright, between real humans and real shadows. Every day her mind framed new stories, and she imagined the shadows to be her human relatives and friends.

Sapna stood up, and walked towards the mirror. The room came into view. “Humans use this to view themselves,” she said. “So ignorant of them to consult their shadows regarding how they look.”

Swapnil got down from bed and held her hand, “Where are the human forms of Sapna and Swapnil?”

Sapna looked at him, and smiled, “They are fine. They are in their home, sleeping.”

That was true. The humans Sapna and Swapnil had never come to live with Aunt Padmini. They were safe with their parents, at their own residence. The kids were sleeping in their bedroom, with Sapna tossing and turning as if she was seeing a nightmare. When her shadow was transported, she had taken its place in Aunt Padmini's house. However, she comprehended being in Aunt Padmini's house as a bad dream, just because humans tend to conclude what they couldn't explain as mere figments of their imaginations.

Things would have been so much simpler if the humans didn’t interfere with their lives. Why do they play with shadows when they want to and then treat them as non-existing objects the next moment? Shadows have life too, they too live and survive. Each day, they have to fight alongside the humans in their struggle to achieve their dreams and goals. They stay with humans when it’s dark, but do they get enough respect for that? Don’t they deserve to receive their due for the constant companionship they provide to humans?

The clock struck twelve. “Let’s go Swapnil,” she said, “the other shadows are waiting for their turn to enter the house. And we also need to prepare for our Shadow School on Monday. We will come again, soon.”

"And humans shouldn't play with us. We are not toys," added Swapnil, a bit annoyed.

Aunt Padmini was lying on her bed. Her eyes closed, she muttered, "I need to prepare for tomorrow. Meera's children Mukund and Anand will be coming in the morning."


The End (Or The Beginning) !!!