Happily Ever After by Oleksandra Khelemendyk

We can turn lead into gold, lies into truth and

darkness into light, making true wonders. Young princess Aislyn didn’t know it yet, but she smiled happily, bathing in everyone’s love, affection and admiration, wrapping her up as a warm blanket. On her first-ever birthday, she was lying in her crib in the middle of the crowded throne hall flooded with sunlight and receiving precious gifts. The greatest good wizards from all over the kingdom came up to the little princess and casted their spells on her.

'May her beauty outshine the sun!'

'May she not suffer from any disease!'

'May she grow bright and witty!'

'May the hope be with her at all times!'

'May her biggest dreams come true!'

Each welcomed with generous applause, kind wishes were pouring on Aislyn like a summer rain, and colourful beams coming out of the magic sticks made her cheeks redden of laughter. This is when the guests were enchanted themselves, sending countless blessings on their Princess Charming.

All of a sudden, the wide heavy doors opened with sinister creaking. Silence fell when an old woman with a wrinkled face, a hooked nose and an ugly hump on her back entered the room. The hem of her black robes dragged on the floor, as she slowly approached the baby’s cradle and said with a raspy voice: ‘I know I came uninvited, but not empty-handed. I wish to make a gift to young princess as well, a really good, the best one. May I, Your Majesties?’ Without waiting for the permission, she rolled the sleeves up, showing her yellowish bony hands, waved her magic stick and solemnly uttered: ‘May the Princess live a long and happy life. May she never know fear, sadness and pain!’ With a blinding purple flash, the spell was concluded, putting a faint smile of relief onto the Queen’s pale face. ‘But for this to happen, let me take just one little thing. Your daughter’s shadow,’ the witch bent over the crib, fumbling in between silk covers with her knotted fingers and squeezing them around something black. ‘Oh, it is just as little and sweet’, she mumbled, while the shadow trembled from fear, desperately trying to escape, and little Aislyn started to whimper at the sight of a grimace on the ugly face. Anxious whispers filled the room, as the witch stormed off and slammed the door, leaving a trail of eerie laugh behind her.

* * *

Once again, the daylight pushed him to hide in some cluttered attic. As people were slowly coming out on the streets in a hurry for their business, and the noises were getting louder, he felt totally lost, an odd one out in this hustle and bustle. No, oh no, he wouldn’t dare go out into the sun. 

When he first felt himself and tried to explore his body, he turned out to have none. He could just seep through everything, run on the walls or hang from the ceiling as a bat, though surely wasn’t one. Who was he, then? He looked down to see a small patch of darkness, fluid and shapeless. Somehow, he knew that sunshine is not for the creatures like him, so he waited eagerly for the nightfall in a small tree hollow. As the first stars lit the sky up, he warily crawled out – and fell in love with the night. Silently floating down the cobbled streets, climbing onto the highest walls or rolling with the wind felt magical, unless he showed himself to people. They immediately pointed fingers at him, started to scream, shake as a leaf or rushed to hide in their houses, in the burning light, so hostile to shadows. He found out he was a shadow when he made a small talk with a creature lying in the grass, strikingly similar to him. ‘You’re pitch black and fluid, just like me. Who are you?’ he rustled, coming closer.  ‘A shadow,’ it hissed like a snake and added, ‘and to become one, you need to learn how to put yourself together. Now, excuse yourself, I was in a middle of something!’ said the Shadow and got back to stargazing in silence. Other Shadows were not any more talkative, almost impossible to befriend. ‘Maybe, that’s because I can’t put myself together,’ the Shadow thought, wandering around the town by himself and peeking through the windows. People were always so busy cooking meals, reading books, bringing up children. So different: tall or short, men or women, young or old, sad or happy, they still had one thing in common – a shadow. He could belong to someone as well, and that made him shiver from an unknown feeling, hotter than the sun, and travel, search, hope…

He saw an open window and rushed to it in a strange anticipation of… anything but this. An old man was sitting in an armchair right in front of him reading a book and holding a bulb of light. The Shadow panicked and tried to vanish into the night air, but the man had already met his startled gaze – and suddenly caught him with his warm fingers. The window closed behind him, cutting away the only way out. ‘Interesting,’ the man said, looking at the Shadow with a spark of interest in his eyes, as he tried to get out of the tight grip, which subtly reminded him of something terrible.

‘Please don’t be afraid, I just want to talk,’ he carefully placed the Shadow on the window sill. ‘Rise if the answer is ‘yes’ and go down if the answer is ‘no’, could you?’

The Shadow lifted himself up for a few inches.

‘Perfect! So, you’re a shadow.’

The Shadow rose, that was obvious.

‘Do you know who you belong to?’

No, he sat on the window sill again.

‘A loner… Do you have a name?’

He went a little bit lover.

‘What about Nyx, then?’

A name? A real name? Up, up, up!

‘So, Nyx, I might know who you are. Are you interested?’

Yes!

‘Don’t be afraid, but I think you are cursed. Cursed with loneliness by an evil witch, and your person is still waiting for you. Do you want to find them?’

Nyx climbed up to the ceiling in a blink of an eye.

The man laughed kindly and said, ‘Luckily, I’m a sorcerer, too, a kind one, so I can help you. But for that, you’ll have to pass three trials, are you ready?’

This time, he went down, looking as serious as a shadow could be. Bring them on! But as soon as he heard the first task, his enthusiasm wavered. ‘For the first trial, you have to face your worst fear,’ said the wizard, as the light bulb in his hand got brighter. Nyx froze in his place and started to shake as a leaf, keeping his wide eyes on the light. Blinding, ever encroaching, it inexorably moved towards him, but he had nowhere to go. He couldn’t disappoint his person acting as a coward, so he squinted and rushed into the light, preparing for the burning pain… but he only found himself drowning in pleasant warmth and heard the magician’s voice, soft and confident, ‘Now, look at yourself’.

Nyx slowly opened his eyes to see an unfamiliar long Shadow, proudly standing out on the whiteness of the opposite wall. The stranger was really giant, bigger than Nyx could imagine. ‘That’s who you are, Nyx!’ the sorcerer said. In utter disbelief, Nyx hesitantly flew up and down, ran up the wall again, made a few spins – and the stranger followed him, repeating his every move! ‘This is what the light does to shadows. It doesn’t kill you, but makes you bigger and stronger, Nyx,’ said the wizard. ‘Now, you can even travel in daylight. You are strong enough to find your person, but you should also act smarter, which is the second trial. Are you ready?’

Elated with success in his first trial, Nyx jumped to the ceiling and barely held a grin back when the magician ordered, ‘Hide from me. In this room, in a minute. I promise not to peep.’ For Nyx, after many years of avoiding people and other shadows, hiding was a piece of cake. He flowed down onto the floor and crawled into the darkest corner he could find – under the table, among ink stains and several ancient handwritten scrolls. The sorcerer found him almost immediately, pointing his finger onto the small piece of him he forgot to cover. ‘Try again’, he said, clearly disappointed, and Nyx tried his best, again and again. In the flower pot, in between the pillows, inside the raven’s cage – the magician noticed him everywhere. ‘Act smarter,’ he remembered the advice, but what did it really mean? In search of the answer, Nyx looked around the room and climbed onto the wall, making himself long and thin. ‘I am a tree,’ he thought, trying his hardest to become one, ‘I look just like that spreading oak outside the window.’ Memorizing every single branch and imitating their exact shape, shrinking and stretching himself was the most difficult thing Nyx ever did. That felt strange, as if the parts of his body were rearranging, felt itchy, a bit painful and definitely scary. This time, the wizard couldn’t find him. ‘Good job,’ he praised the shadow, smiling with the corners of his eyes. ‘I have never seen anyone learn to shapeshift so quickly. Now, off you go. The third and final trial awaits you in the royal palace. Good luck,’ and he opened the window, releasing Nyx into the night.

His journey took three days and three nights, even if with his new powers he could make it in a few hours. Still avoiding crowded streets, getting little as a child at noon and stopping frequently to observe other shadows, Nyx hesitated. Now, able to choose his shape and direction at will, he struggled to understand why so many shadows enjoyed being tied to people and mirroring their every move without getting anything in return. They went where they were told to and stopped when their owners wanted, lying on the ground as shapeless puddles. Was it really for him? ‘Maybe, I will know that for sure after the third trial,’ Nyx thought anxiously, crawling through the palace premises.

* * *

When he first saw the princess, he could not believe it. She was in the garden, reading a book on the bench and shining with beauty, as all princesses do, but she had no shadow! Nyx crawled closer, hiding in the bushes and watching her in pure awe. Tender as one of her favourite lilies, she treated everyone with kindness, spent her days studying hard in her well-lit chambers and moved through the palace gracefully, as if she was waltzing through the ballroom. Very soon, Nyx started treasuring the princess as a rare jewel. What saddened him was that she never smiled, but he knew what he could do.

When the princess went to sleep, Nyx climbed up the palace wall and quietly entered her chambers through the window. His sudden arrival didn’t go unnoticed, but the princess surprised him again. Nyx was approaching her slowly, in tiny tentative steps, making himself as little as he could not to scare her, but she stared at him in pure amazement, unable to take her eyes off the strange guest. Nyx floated towards the pool of moonlight and turned himself into a magic flower she never saw. The princess couldn’t hold back a gasp, sitting on her bad and leaning forward not to miss a single moment. The flower slowly opened its petals for her and turned into a swan graciously bowing his long neck, into a horse pulling a carriage, a sailing ship, a kite soaring in the sky… Nyx changed the images, showing her the most beautiful things he ever saw, doing his best to catch the smallest glimpse of joy on her face. At the sight of a bear riding a bicycle he once saw in the circus, the princess suddenly let out a quiet melodic laugh, leaving Nyx struck with awe once again, taking in every moment. Almost frightened, princess froze as well, covering her mouth with her both hands.

‘You know… for all my life, I was so happy that I eventually started to take it for granted and forgot the real feeling of joy. You gave me my laugh back, I can’t thank you enough,’ she uttered in disbelief. ‘Am I dreaming?’ she suddenly seemed tense, as the light in her eyes began to fade. ‘Oh, you can’t talk, I’m so sorry! Please fly up if the answer is ‘yes’, will you?’

Her thoughtfulness reminded him of the kind wizard who led him here, as he modestly bowed, laying down on the floor. No.

‘Does that mean…’ the princess stuttered, stifling hope. ‘Will I see you again?’

 He gladly rose, hovering above the floor. The princess rewarded him with a shining smile and clapped her hands as a little girl.

‘You are so… You are wonderful! Will you be my friend?’

Yes, yes, yes!

He was overflowed with happiness, so audacious that he stayed in her room till dawn. Watching her sleep soundly with a faint smile on her lips, he thought it was worth his freedom. To see it again, he was ready to shadow her, going wherever she pleases.

Meanwhile, the kind sorcerer opened the window to let his raven in and heard it cawing happily, flying around the room. Nyx passed his third trial.

The next morning, he found the princess in the garden and fell at her feet, asking for permission to stay. She cried, making Nyx shrink and quake, feeling as a villain, but never had he thought that tears could be so sweet of happiness.