“What is your wish?” the shadow asked the little girl one day. She could no longer have been called little however, as the many long years had transformed her from a child to a young woman late in her adolescence. Her features were more womanly and her platinum blonde hair had grown long, its full length curled on the ground next to her.

“My wish?” she asked, fiddling with a crown of flowers in her hands.

“Yes. You recall that you had a wish you wanted granted?”

She nodded, tying the loose ends of her crown. “Yes, I remember. You still want to know after all this time?”

“I became your friend, did I not? I’ve indulged you in these activities of yours. Is it still not right for me to know?”

The girl smiled and walked over. She placed the crown of flowers on the shadow’s head, an act that had become a tradition of sorts. Since she was little, she’d often make flower crowns for him, though the shadow never understood why.

“Oh, my dear friend, my wish has been flourishing all around us this entire time. Have you truly never noticed?”

The shadow glanced around. “Your wish was to revive flowers?”

“In a manner of speaking.”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

“It’s complicated,” she teased.

The shadow merely grumbled and flicked a rock along the grass.

The meadow they stood upon reached far and had become a particularly favorite spot for the girl, producing the most vibrant of flowers and trees. In the distance, the meadow ended abruptly—the contrasting dead wasteland they’d yet to revive sat at its border. All along this border were many shadows, looking at them but never taking a step into the meadow itself, as if stopped by some invisible wall.

“They’re still there, huh?” the shadow sighed, gazing at his kin from afar. A veritable army at his door.

“No matter how much of the new earth expands, they’re always at its border, watching us. It’s scary really.” The girl fidgeted.

“Scary?”

“Yes. All this time and every one of your kin still wishes to devour me. Will this world never become tame?”

“Probably not. But I wouldn’t worry. As I explained to you before, they can’t come near us.”

“Because of the power of balance?” she asked.

“I suppose so.”

Biting her lip, the girl walked towards the border. The on looking shadows twitched excitedly as their prey approached.

“Shadows of this fallen world,” she began, the force in her voice surprising the curious shadow behind her, “you have seen the wonders we have brought. Can there be no peace between us? Can we not make a world of life together?”

“You’re wasting your time,” the shadow said. “They’re idiots. They only want to devour you.”

“Have faith, my friend. I’m sure my voice can reach them.”

The shadow shook his head and glanced at his brethren. All of them were pacing back and forth, twitching eerily, their glowing red eyes never leaving the girl.

She took a deep breath and stepped closer, but the shadow quickly grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

“Not smart,” he said. “You get close enough and they’ll pull you to their side. You’ll be lost.”

“They can’t hurt me as long as we’re together, right?”

“Well, yes but-”

“Then it’s settled. Come, Mr. Shadow, let’s see if we can help your kind like we did the flower,” she said with a warm smile.

The shadow shrugged and followed her to the meadow’s edge, just out of reach of the clawing shadows. “This is a bad idea,” he grumbled.

“Oh shush,” the girl said over her shoulder. She extended her arms, as if trying to embrace the shadows.

“I want to help you all… if you’d only let me.”

There was no response from the feral shadows. They merely continued to swipe at her.

“See? They’re stupid.”

“Faith, my friend.”

“What do you suggest then?”

The girl thought for a moment and smiled. “We do what we’ve always done. Take his right claw, Mr. Shadow. I will take his left.”

The shadow sighed and reached for his kin’s right claw, which was limp, letting itself be held. But the moment the girl took its left, the feral shadow’s claws dug into her soft hand and began pulling her into the darkness.

The ever-vigilant shadow quickly grabbed her waist and held her tight.

“Told you.”

“And I told you nothing would happen to me as long as we’re together. I knew you’d keep me safe.”

“Let’s just get on with it and see what happens.”

“Right.”

The girl closed her eyes and the shadow waited. Suddenly, the flailing shadow before them went still. It looked to the sky and its face started breaking apart, crumbling away like gravel, revealing a man’s face with short dark hair beneath its shroud. The red irises and black sclera disappeared; bright green eyes and a healthy white sclera took their place.

“I think…” the shadow began.

“What’s wrong?” asked the girl.

“I think I’ve seen something like this before.”

“You have?”

“Yes… but… in reverse.”

The black body continued to fade and more and more of the man’s own body was revealed until at last he stood before them purified.

“It worked!” the girl cried.

The man collapsed as if exhausted and the speechless shadow caught him, bringing him in past the meadow’s border.

“Is he alright?” the girl asked.

“I think so. Look, he’s waking up.”

The man opened his eyes and looked up at the shadow who was smiling down at him with his never-ending grin. He panicked and scurried away.

“S-stay back! The darkness won’t take me again!”

“Be still, you are among friends now,” the girl calmly stated with her hands raised.

The man looked at her in awe. “Fair vision,” he gasped. “You have saved me. I was lost in that cold abyss but you brought me back!”

“We brought you back,” the little girl corrected. The man looked between her and the shadow.

“Hey there,” the shadow greeted, looking rather silly with a flower crown upon his head.

“But… but you are one of them!”

“I suppose I am. What is your name?”

“My name…” The man gripped his head. “I-I can’t remember.”

“Do you remember anything at all?” the girl asked.

“I remember… the bright lights a-and…” He thought for a moment. “Glass vials. Research notes as well.”

The girl turned to the shadow who, strangely, seemed unmoved by the familiar description.

“I don’t know my name,” the man finally managed. “What has happened to me? Where are we right now?”

“Peace, friend, you are safe,” the girl said, holding out her hand to him. “The darkness no longer has a hold on you. You’re free.”

“Free…” The man exhaled the word. He took both their hands and wept. “Bless you both. You’ve saved me!”

“What’s wrong with him?” the shadow whispered, a little disgusted.

“Nothing’s wrong, silly. He’s just happy.”

“These emotions are certainly complicated,” he grumbled. The man looked up upon hearing this.

“And I don’t-”

“-Like complicated things,” the man eerily finished for him.

The shadow looked at him for a long moment and something glimmered in the man’s eyes. His relieved expression was now replaced with a calculative one. It made the shadow uneasy.

Where have I seen this before? Wondered the shadow.

“I am in your debt, Lord Shadow,” the man said with a bow.

“Don’t call me that,” the shadow grunted.

The girl laughed and looked back to the other shadows, still feral and still hungry. All waiting to be saved as well.

“Come, Mr. shadow. We have much work to do.”