In the midst of dancing shadows was a little girl, dancing with the shadows. There was no noise in this grey world but the girl’s feet pattering on grass.

Reaching the end of her dance, the girl spun and spun and spun, her black hair a whirlpool, until she fell on her back, giggling. She stared at the white sky, searching, searching for the sun she knew was somewhere up there. There, the black spot in the unblemished white sky. Yet she couldn’t focus on it, her world was spinning.

She blinked and found a ‘face’ in front of her. It was more of a darkness within the hood of a cape. Atop its cape-head sat a rusty iron crown. She knew this one, it was mom. She smiled happily as she felt it lifting her, her world almost instantly stopped spinning. It was probably bed time, hence why mom came.

She felt so free floating along. Even if she was being carried, there was no greater sense of freedom than ‘flying’. Her eyes felt heavy. No, not yet. She hadn’t even played ‘birdy’. She tried to resist but it was futile, her eyes closed, and she fell asleep in the arms of mom.

She opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. She sighed. She was in her ‘house’, the place she was born. It was little more than walls and a roof, but it was better than sleeping in the rain. The only real problem she had with this place was the rotting corpse of a bigger her. Mom seemed to know who it belonged to, or who it was, as she usually floated near it.

The little girl sat upright as quick as she could. She was too tired to ‘fly’ the last cycle, but now she was rested and ready to fly! Of course, mom would only carry her near the end of the cycle, bringing her home. So, she had to go find another like mom, or just use a few of her shadow friends. Whichever was the fastest and easiest would be the one she picked.

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The girl ran out the house, watching where the sun was. It seemed she had the sun to enjoy for a while, before it went to sleep, its cycle completed. She focused her eyes on the shadows moving here and there. There were a few, not too many, but enough.

She stuck her arms in the air. Up, she wanted up. The shadows around converged on her. They formed a more solid humanoid form. Its limbs hooked her armpits and lifted. She squealed and giggled as she ‘flew’ through the sky. Her giggles caused shockwaves on the shadow’s form, making it more solid, more humanoid, more detailed, just, more.

She lowered her arms. The shadow lowered her to the ground. Her face was flushed, too much excitement. She placed her hands on her cheeks, feeling their heat. She was happy.

She sighed happily. She took another look around her. Her shadow ‘plane’ had vanished, probably gone back to work. There were now more shadows around her. She turned her eyes to another place, the place where she would always dance with the shadows.

She ran to the place, her playground. She arrived to find the shadows already dancing. She pouted at that. They didn’t even wait for her. Her pout did not last long as she heard a hum fill the air. She was just in time.

She jumped into the centre of the dancing shadows. She took a deep breath and sang the song she made.

“We live in a world of dreams.

Where shadows dance and mommies sleep.

In dreamland we play all cycle long.

Where the sky is white and the sun is black we all dance and sing and play.

Here, where the lands are grey, a little girl lives and calls home.

This morning she woke, and she danced and played with all her shadowy friends.

Come shadows, come and play.”