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墨書 Inktalez
Have you ever noticed your own shadow?
That dark shape formed by the light, sometimes blurry, sometimes clear, yet always naturally present beside every object, without exception.
However, because its existence is so taken for granted, it is often overlooked. So even when something unusual occurs, it can be difficult to notice it right away…
***
In the middle of the night, an unexpected urge forced me to wake from my dreams.
I glanced at the time, initially hoping to hold out until the morning alarm went off. But as I could no longer endure it, I reluctantly chose to leave the comfort of my warm bed and headed toward the bathroom.
My room was on the second floor, but the bathroom was on the first floor, so going to the bathroom required quite a bit of effort to make my way downstairs.
With a drowsy expression on my face, I stumbled out of my room, turned on the light in the stairwell, and slowly made my way down the stairs.
At three in the morning, my family was fast asleep. In the stillness of the night, only the sound of my unsteady footsteps echoed unevenly on the stairs.
Yet, in my hazy consciousness, I felt that something was off…
I paused for a moment, unconsciously staring at the shadow cast on the stairs for a while.
Something seemed strange… but I couldn’t quite put my finger on what exactly was wrong.
I stared at the shadow in a daze—this hairstyle, this figure, it had to be me, but...
Tentatively, I raised my right hand and waved. The shadow beneath me mirrored the action perfectly.
...I must have been overthinking it, right?
I shrugged it off, not giving it much thought, and headed downstairs straight to the bathroom.
After taking care of my needs, I climbed back up the stairs, turned off the lights in the stairwell, and returned to my room to sleep again.
Although I was still somewhat concerned about the shadow from earlier, I was too tired to ponder it further and soon drifted off.
※※※
The next morning, as I prepared to go downstairs for breakfast, I stepped onto the stairs and saw the shadow cast on the wall. Memories of last night flooded back in an instant—
I finally realized what was wrong!
The light in the stairwell was located on the wall behind me; logically, the shadow should have been projected onto the wall in front of me like it was now.
However, last night’s shadow had been cast life-sized right on the stairs beneath me!
As this thought crossed my mind, an inexplicable chill ran through me.
No, wait! It seems too early to jump to conclusions; perhaps it's just a matter of perspective?
So, I stood alone in the same spot as last night, trying various poses. No matter how I hunched my body or stood sideways, my shadow could not project itself on the Stairs as it had the night before.
What on earth is going on? Could it be that I misremembered in my sleepy haze?
But I clearly remember that waving gesture; the shadow did indeed fall on the Stairs.
Moreover, now that I'm awake, I've noticed something else that's off—my hair has grown long enough to reach my shoulders, while the shadow I saw was of a Maruko-Head Sister from a few days ago.
...Was that really my shadow?
Looking at the shadow before me, which still mirrored my every move perfectly, I couldn't shake off an indescribable sense of strangeness...
Have you ever paid attention to your own shadow?
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