The Forgotten Shadow

Forgotten sat in the sun one fine day. She had dragged her dolls out into the yard for tea. To her right sat Mr. Bunny. To her left sat Ms. Duck. And across from her sat Daniel. The sun was high but Forgotten didn't mind. She was just happy to be playing. She offered each of her toys a cup of tea the way she half remembered being offered tea. Forgotten was a blank child. She never retained anything from one day to the next. However, there were something like memories now. Like phantoms in the back of her mind. Daniel was the strongest of such phantoms. She couldn't remember where she got the doll or why it had a hole in it's chest. But she knew clearly it was important to her, and that his name was Daniel. She also had a feeling that he once served her tea.

Forgotten would sometimes try to dwell on these feelings but they washed away from her like holding onto water. Instead of struggling she just poured everyone a second cup of tea.

"For you Mr. Bunny", she asked holding up the tea pitcher.

The head of Mr. Bunny turned slightly. This surprised Forgotten at first, but she wasn't scared. She'd forgotten how to be scared.

"Thank you dear", said Mr. Bunny in a strange voice.

Without hesitation she turned toward Ms. Duck.

"And you", she asked.

Ms. Duck's head also turned toward her.

"Yes please", said an even stranger voice.

Forgotten smiled and looked across to Daniel. The doll started to move. But an emotion like the faint feeling of sadness washed over Forgotten. She looked down at her cup.

"Who are you", she asked.

"Forgive me, I'm Father Night", said a voice.

"Father Night? But it's daytime."

"So it is. That's why I'm hiding here behind your dolls." 

"Have you always been there?"

"Of course. I just don't like to be noticed. But you seem nice and I wanted to play with you"

This made Forgotten smile. She didn't have any friends, except for Daniel. Her castle sat deep underground in a graveyard so few people visited. None that she could recall anyway. But she wasn't lonely she'd forgotten how to be lonely.

"Would you like some tea Mr. Father Night", she asked the shadow on the ground.

"I'd love some, and you can call me Nod", said the shadow.

"OK, Mr. Nod."

Forgotten poured a cup of tea and sat it in the space between Daniel and Mr. Bunny. She heard the sound of sipping, but the cup didn't move.

"You must be incredibly small", said Forgotten.

"Quiet the opposite, I am very big."

"If your so big how do you hide in that tiny shadow?"

"I'm hiding in every shadow."

Forgotten looked around at the field she sat in. So many shadows stretched across the ground.

"Why do you hide?"

"Mother Sun and I have had a fight. So now I hide from her."

Forgotten looked down at her cup. She wasn't exactly sure what a fight was, but it didn't sound good. They talked for the rest of the day. Until the sun began to set.

"The sun is leaving", said Forgotten, "Now can you come out."

The shadows got longer on the ground. In the darkness a man sat with his legs crossed as if he'd been there all along. He was as black as the night and wore a cloak that seemed to blend into the darkness. Forgotten smiled at him.

"It is a pleasure to meet you", she said. 

The man smiled back at her.

"You look so much like your mother", the man said.

 "What is a 'mother'", Forgotten asked.

The man looked up into the sky. The moon was just over the tree line.

"It's not important. It's going to get cold out here. We should go inside."

He helped Forgotten carry all of her things into the castle. He spent the rest of the night telling her stories that only he knew. Then, as she slowly dosed off on a couch Nod watched as she faded away. He closed his eyes and when he opened them he was outside high above the castle. The moon looked down on him. He smiled up at her before fading away himself.