It began modestly; Sometimes I would catch a glimpse of you out of the corner of my eye – nothing more than a faint flash of color. You were always fleeting, so much so that I began to think you were nothing more than my mind playing tricks on me. That was until you stopped trying to hide, and I stopped trying to see.… Then it got worse. You played tricks on me and gold would haunt me at every step. I got nervous, my eyes were always searching, what people didn't know was that I was looking for you. However, you and your games prevented me from seeing; you left trails of dust and silver, always, always, shining. But never you. You preferred to watch me suffer. This is where you found pleasure. And I was very happy to oblige.…I only noticed after the first few times I saw you, or at least parts of you, that you didn't have a shadow. You stood with your back covered. in the dark and remain unharmed by the sun's rays. Even so, when I saw you, your face was covered. Always covered. So maybe you had a shadow, maybe it was inside you. Some things, I have learned, are internal. Sometimes the greatest beauty hides the most terrifying secrets... Years after you fully appeared. Or as much as I allowed myself to see. Your smile was off, and not just because only one side of your mouth had turned up. It was empty, like something was missing. Your eyes were the same: dead. I didn't think about it, everyone couldn't be alive. There was something else too, something I'd never noticed about you, not until you had to show me yourself. You reminded me of someone, the predatory looks with which you stared at the little red-haired girls, or the deep tone of your voice. Every time I got closer, the image would escape, like water flowing through...... middle of paper ...and fingerprints. But they weren't mine, they were yours. Where my hand was, yours had replaced it. We weren't the same now, not like before, we were on opposite ends of where we started. I was what sat in the corner of your eye, always, always, watching. I knew that wouldn't be the case. but it affects you as if it had me. You're the one who caused all of this, who started it all, so why should it. And I felt your thirst. A painful, never-ending burn, consuming me and leaving fiery ordeals as it rose to the surface. I understand now. But I will never forgive you. But only because there was nothing to forgive, you wanted life and I gave it to you. I only did what made you happy, and it seems your happiness is linked to mine. So I guess that means I'm happy to be a shadow forever, and that's why I tried to hate you. But I can't. I wish I could.