the shadow noticed first.
the boy stopped waiting.
not all at once.
he just started leaving rooms
before the other footsteps did.
the shadow thought this was rude.
it had always liked
the other footsteps.
they made rooms
last longer.
so it tried an experiment.
it stood a little taller.
the boy looked down.
"what are you doing?"
"nothing."
"you're a shadow."
"i know."
"then stop standing like that."
the shadow slouched.
"better?"
"worse."
it tried again.
it learned the shape
of the other boy's shoulders.
the way he leaned
against doorways.
the way his hands
disappeared into his pockets.
the way he stood
half a step behind.
the shadow thought
it looked convincing.
the boy disagreed.
"don't."
"don't what?"
"that."
the shadow didn't know
what that meant.
so it kept trying.
it became the shape
of a coat over a chair.
the shape of a cigarette
between fingers.
the shape of someone
looking out a window
as if the sky
had done something wrong.
the boy laughed.
once.
the shadow brightened.
"see?"
"you look stupid."
the shadow was offended.
it had spent all morning
on the shoulders.
"but you laughed."
"that wasn't because of you."
the shadow went quiet.
the next morning,
it tried his walk.
left foot.
pause.
right foot.
hands in pockets.
slower than necessary.
the shadow thought
it looked convincing.
the boy stopped.
"you can't have that."
"why?"
"it's his."
the shadow looked
at its feet.
"i thought you wanted him."
the boy didn't answer.
so the shadow tried his voice.
not exactly.
just the rhythm.
the little pause
before saying something mean.
the tiredness
at the end of a sentence.
the boy turned so quickly
the shadow nearly slipped
off the wall.
"don't."
this time,
it understood.
"okay."
it stopped.
for three days.
then it tried his hands.
the shadow had spent years
learning the boy's hands.
how they moved
when he was bored.
how they curled
when he was angry.
how they reached
for things without looking.
now it borrowed
someone else's fingers.
longer.
quieter.
familiar.
the boy stared at them.
"you really miss him."
"i don't."
the shadow waited.
"you do."
"no."
the shadow waited longer.
the boy looked away.
after a while he said,
"he hated sweets."
the shadow considered this.
"i can hate sweets."
"you don't eat."
"details."
the boy smiled.
the shadow tried
to do the same.
it got the mouth wrong.
"you're terrible at this."
"i'm trying."
"i know."
once,
the shadow became an umbrella.
another time,
a chair.
once,
it made itself into
the exact shape
of the empty place
beside him.
the boy sat down.
neither of them moved.
after a while,
he said,
"he used to sit there."
the shadow stayed quiet.
"what was he like?"
the boy laughed.
"annoying."
a pause.
"quiet."
another.
"he knew when i was lying."
the shadow waited.
"he always knew."
the boy rubbed his thumb
against the edge of his sleeve.
"he didn't have to ask."
the shadow looked
at the empty place.
then at him.
"can you do that?"
the boy smiled
without looking.
"no."
the shadow thought about this.
"i can learn."
"don't."
"okay."
that night,
the boy fell asleep
with one hand
hanging over the edge
of the bed.
the shadow climbed
the wall beside him.
it made itself smaller.
then smaller.
until it fit
inside his palm.
it stayed there
until morning.
when the sun came,
the boy opened his eyes.
the shadow stretched
across the floor.
for a moment,
it looked almost like him.
the boy stared.
"i know it's you."
the shadow didn't move.
"you're not him."
still nothing.
the boy looked
at the empty chair.
then back at the shadow.
"but you can stay."
the shadow tried to nod.
it moved strangely.
after that,
it stopped trying so often.
mostly.
sometimes,
when the light was low,
it still borrowed
the shape of his shoulders.
sometimes it walked
a little slower.
sometimes it stood
half a step behind.
the boy never mentioned it.
the shadow never apologized.
it still followed him
into the kitchen.
the boy opened
the same cupboard
again.
there was nothing inside.
the shadow watched.
"what?"
"nothing."
he closed it.
opened it again.
the shadow stretched
across the counter.
"what are you doing?"
"nothing."
"you're in the way."
the shadow moved
two inches.
"better?"
"no."
it stayed there anyway.
it liked watching him
make tea.
once,
the boy came home
in the rain.
the shadow followed him
through the doorway.
it liked rainy days.
nobody watched shadows
in the rain.
the boy shook water
from his sleeves.
the shadow stayed close
to his feet.
one afternoon,
the boy was eating something sweet.
he took a bite.
then another.
then stopped.
the shadow looked at him.
"what?"
"nothing."
"you don't like it?"
the boy looked
at the empty chair.
then at the shadow.
"i do."
the shadow waited.
the boy took another bite.
this time,
he finished it.
he put the plate
in the sink.
the shadow followed.
at the doorway,
it paused.
the boy looked back.
"coming?"
the shadow looked
at the empty chair.
then at him.
"yes."
and followed.
