In the dappled light of the forest, there lived a young deer named Della.
Della was afraid of a great many things.
Loud noises. Sudden movements. Puddles that were deeper than they looked.
But the thing she was most afraid of was always with her.
Her shadow.
She first noticed it on a sunny morning.
She looked left. It looked left.
She looked right. It looked right.
She jumped.
It jumped too.
“WHAT IS THAT,” said Della, and ran. 🦌
🌲 You Can’t Outrun a Shadow
She ran left.
The shadow ran left.
She ran right.
The shadow ran right.
She ran in a big circle.
The shadow ran in a big circle.
She stopped.
The shadow stopped.
She was very out of breath.
“It copies everything I do,” she told a robin.
“That’s because it’s yours,” said the robin.
“MINE?”
“It’s your shadow. Everyone has one.”
Della looked at the shadow.
The shadow looked back.
“I don’t want it,” said Della.
“Well,” said the robin, “it wants you.”
🦌 Running Until Dark
Della spent the whole day trying to lose it.
She hid behind a tree.
The shadow was behind the tree too.
She stood in the pond.
The shadow wobbled in the water below her.
She stood very still under a cloud.
And the shadow got smaller.
And smaller.
And fainter.
And when the cloud covered the sun completely —
The shadow was gone.
Della looked around.
Just her. Just the forest. Just soft grey light.
Actually quite peaceful.
💛 Mila Shows Her the Sunset
Mila found Della standing under the cloud, looking relieved.
“It went away!” said Della.
“It’ll come back when the sun does,” said Mila.
“Oh no.”
Mila sat beside her until evening.
And as the sun went low and orange, something happened to Della’s shadow.
It stretched out long and golden behind her.
Long and graceful and tall.
It looked like a very beautiful deer.
Mila pointed.
“Look. That’s what your shadow looks like at sunset.”
Della turned and looked at her shadow for the first time without running away.
Oh.
She stepped sideways.
The shadow stepped too, slowly, beautifully.
Della stepped the other way.
The shadow followed, long and golden and completely hers.
“It’s not so bad,” said Della, very quietly.
“It never was,” said Mila. 🦌