[ WP ] You live in a world where people 's shadows show who they truly are at their core . Some shadows look like monsters , some look like animals . You are the only person in the world with no shadow .

Another rolling boom of thunder grew, then faded, reverberating between the skyscrapers overhead. Water pooled from downspouts and rushed in man-made rivers down the sides of the street. The storms like this could last for days. It was the best time to get outside anymore.The clouds hid the light. Shadows scared more than just children these days. 
 Some say it's the sun, the way it glows more red now. Others say the government is pumping increasing levels of drugs into the water supply. Others claim to now have ESP. The real crazy ones, well, they stay inside even more than they used to and say even stranger things. 
 
 `` Shadows that come alive,'' they say. 
 
 I say people have n't been looking hard enough. 
 
 Walking down the street, the shadows are n't strong, but they're there if you know how to look.The shape of a doe followed a woman passing me on my left. She ducked her face back behind her phone as she moved busily to her next stop. Another, a man, sat under an overhang, with his head bowed and hand outstretched. His only companion, the faint outline of an eagle, sat next to him. Nobody saw any of it. They like it that way. 
 
 Light can be a tricky thing, after all. Bring something out of the dark, and suddenly everyone can judge it with a sense of safety. Whatever can be seen in the light must be the whole truth, they think to themselves. 
 
 I like days like this. Going out in the rain assures you of some semblance of normalcy. No one can judge, or point, or cower at shadows if they are n't there. In the light of day, shadows `` show your worst fears'', or `` things you want to see about people'', or some other garbage, I forget. It's annoying how quickly these people will go from the basking in the light to hiding in the dark. The irony is lost on all of them. 
 
 The clouds hide their shadows. I, of course, have no shadow. 
 
 I've seen the shadows for years; for as long as I can remember, really. Everybody has one. Sometimes they even change; right at the end, an old monster with huge fangs could suddenly shrink to a lamb; a young and formless shadow would rise up and become a wolf, chasing away a bullying scavenger. The shadows play out these events like a silent theater, without bias or emotion; only the truth comes alive. 
 
 Eventually, these people started seeing shadows for what they were. A glimpse, just a glimpse, beyond what they had known, and a whole society nearly collapses. I was the only one who was n't surprised, like I said I have no shadow. The only thing scarier than having your soul laid bare on the pale concrete every day would be seeing someone whose soul remains hidden. But I know better than to give these people another reason to run in fear. 
 
 My destination is the next block over. The crossing sign appeared to float overhead. Red turns to green. Cutting across the street between the spray from taxi tires, a small lion shape shot past me into the crosswalk. It's attached to a small boy, who ran with his head down to keep out the rain. He jumped from stripe to stripe on the painted walkway, not bothering to look up from his little game. 
 
 Why could people suddenly see the truth in the shadows? Hell if I know. I do n't worry myself with trivial things like that. The shadows have always existed, like microbes or magnetism. They just took time to discover, I guess. 
 
 The taxi driver slammed on his brakes, but the rain had been soaking the road for 2 days. The car collided with a dull thud, followed by a crunch as the boy hit the ground. The taxi driver slowed for a moment, frowned, and sped off. The boy did n't move. 
 
 Reaching down to the boy, I could already see that he was dead. As I reached for his arm, a small break in the clouds allowed a bit more light along the street. Pedestrians scurried away like roaches from the light. 
 A moment later, he stirred at my touch. He stood up, confused and shielding his eyes from the haze. He no longer seemed bothered by the rain. Looking at his feet, he spun, turning around and around in a circle. 
 
 `` Mister, what happened? where's my shadow?'' 
 
 `` You do n't need it anymore.'' 
 
 This answer rarely satisfied. He looked up. `` But why?'' 
 
 `` Where we're going, nobody has a shadow. It's better that way.'' The boy reached out with his hand, and I took it. 

