Lena and the Shadows

They called her feral — a girl gone absolutely mad.

She had disappeared one day after setting out for what was supposed to be a short walk. When she didn’t return, panic understandably set in. A search was quickly organized, and she was found in the middle of the forest.

High up in an ancient oak tree, they saw bare feet swinging back and forth. Relieved, but still worried, they called up to her.

“Lena, are you alright? Why didn’t you come home?”

The feet stopped moving, and they saw her face appear over the branch. She didn’t look happy but seemed to be okay, physically at least. Lena stared down at the small crowd gathered at the base of the tree. She counted twenty at least and could hear more moving around in the undergrowth. Her eyebrows drew together, and she let out a sigh. They had found her so fast; maybe she didn’t go as far as she thought she had gone. They continued to look up expectantly, but Lena didn’t say a word, only pulled her feet onto the branch so she couldn’t be seen from the ground.

This caused a man below to throw up his hands. She heard apologies being given loudly, obviously she was meant to hear — was meant to feel guilty.

“I’m sorry, everyone. She’s always been selfish, but this is a new low. Thank you for your help. You can go home. I’ll wait here. She’ll be down soon enough now that the drama’s over.”

But Lena did not come down.

As night crept through the forest, the man waited in vain. He didn’t know that Lena had made friends here. On all those walks beforehand, Lena had been quiet. She had watched carefully as the shadows slinked from tree to tree, pausing every so often to play tag with the deer or to hide the occasional field mouse from a hawk prowling from the sky above. She came to find that she enjoyed their company. They were mostly silent, never talking just to hear themselves speak. She wasn’t quite sure what they were. They whispered sometimes, but they were so quick that she struggled to keep them in her sight, whispers or not.

They weren’t sure about her. They had seen humans before, had watched as they had leveled trees in which the bluebirds sang; they had mourned the rivers, once brilliant and mighty, now filled with waste and struggling to even stumble. No love was lost on these creatures who destroyed as easily as breathing. Still, they had witnessed a few kind ones, so they were curious. They watched as she walked along the dirt path, day after day. They smiled as she said hello to the honeybees and offered red clover to the rabbits. Could they trust this one? It seemed so. Despite all they had witnessed of humanity, all they had endured at its hands, they were hopeful.

And on a sunny day, when the breeze was jumping through the treetops, they started to sing. Lena had been resting up against a towering aspen in a small clearing when she heard it. It sounded like wind…but not quite. If she was making any noise at all, she wouldn’t have heard it. Words. Yes. Those were definitely words. Soft, but unmistakable, she heard a song that pulled at her in ways she had not known before. She opened her eyes, and that’s when she saw them. They seemed to appear out of nowhere, peeling themselves from the shadows.

They were beautiful and as varied as nature is varied. One was tall and thin, with skin like a birch tree’s bark and eyes dark as onyx. Another was petite with hair of goldenrod and an aura of infectious warmth. Being in her presence felt like the first warm day after an endless winter. Lena could make out a few more of the beings in the shade of the trees, but directed her attention back to the two that stood in front of her. They didn’t seem to be fully solid, as she looked closer she noticed that their outlines seemed to be blurred.

She realized that she had been staring for too long.

“Hello, Lena.”

The goldenrod woman beamed at her.

Okay, so they knew her name.

“Uh…hi. I mean, hello. I guess I’m not crazy.”

“You thought you were crazy?”

The other being laughed. This one’s voice was a little deeper but still higher than a human man’s. Lena wondered if there were any men among them. It was difficult to tell. She decided it didn’t matter, even if she was curious. She still didn’t know exactly what they were though.

“Yeah…I guess I did. Usually when people think shadows are whispering, they’re not actually whispering. Strangely enough, I accepted it.”

They all grinned at each other then, and the two introduced themselves. The woman with goldenrod hair was named Thea, and her companion was called Arden. They explained that humans had no official name for their race, though those that had encountered them called them “shadow people.”

“Not very imaginative, is it?” Arden remarked.

Lena smirked, “We can be a very literal people.”

They continued talking. Thea and Arden encouraged Lena to ask questions. They wanted her to understand. There were very little of them left. The rampant deforestation and general destruction of the natural world had made them fragile. They told Lena that there was a time that they were as solid as she was, that long ago they could be seen by everyone. But, as the human population grew, as it became clear that they had a habit of fearing and destroying what they didn’t understand, the shadow people had to hide if they wanted to survive. So, hide they did. No humans alive could remember the time when the shadow people roamed freely.

Arden told Lena that they had always been a people connected to nature; they were helpers, so that when they needed help themselves, nature delivered. They were taught how to blend with the shadows, but to do this they had to sacrifice. They would no longer be fully corporeal, and they would not be able to interfere with the humans’ destruction. While they would still be able to direct the animals of the forest away from danger, they could not confront the source. They agreed to the terms.

And so, they endured.

Lena grew quieter as the conversation went on until it stopped altogether.

“You talk about how destructive humans are, and I know we are. I hate it. But, if there’s no hope for us, why’d you talk to me?”

Thea smiled sadly, “You always seem incredibly weighed down when you first set foot on the path, but you change the longer you stay. You always treat the forest with kindness. We appreciate that more than we can express. We wondered, all of us, if you would like to stay — if you would like to help.”

Lena’s face lit up, “YES! Yes. I would love to stay. I want to help. Just tell me how.”

“We may not be able to interfere with the humans, but being human yourself, you can. We can teach you how to utilize the shadows to hide. You won’t be able to disappear completely as we do, but humans won’t be able to tell the difference once you master it. You can learn how to move like us — like darkness and wind.”

Arden moved closer and took Lena’s hand.

“Come back in three days time. Climb the ancient oak; we’ll come to collect you when the moon is colossal in the sky.”

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