Shadow Puppets

Part One: The Lonely Wall

Most nights, Shadow Puppet could be found dancing across a little girl’s wall.
He twisted and bowed, leaped and swirled—his shape changing with every turn of Samaya’s hands.

Behind her, a soft glow from the shimmering unicorn lamp brought him to life.
The two of them—girl and shadow—had been inseparable since Samaya’s fourth birthday, five years ago, when the lamp first arrived, wrapped in glittery paper and tied with a silver bow.

Every night before bed, they invented new characters and adventures.
A dragon one evening, a gallant knight the next. Sometimes, Shadow Puppet was a mischievous cat or a brave explorer crossing the great paper mountain of Samaya’s blanket fort.

But tonight was different.

Samaya had gone camping with her family. The little room stood empty and still.
The unicorn lamp was dark. The twinkle lights along the ceiling were quiet.
Only the open window stirred—letting in a cold, wandering breeze that made the paper stars above her bed tinkle like tiny chimes.

Shadow Puppet stood on the wall, alone.
He gazed at the sleeping room, his heart heavy.
Without Samaya, there was no one to move the hands that shaped his world.

He turned toward the window.
Beyond the fluttering curtain, the night stretched wide and endless.
“I wish I could reach her,” he whispered to no one at all.

And just then—
Moon drifted from behind a cloud, her silver face smiling gently down.

Part Two: Moonlight Flight

“I can help you,” Moon seemed to say, her light spilling through the window in a soft, glimmering wave.

Shadow Puppet’s dark face brightened.
Of course! All he needed was light.
It didn’t matter whether it came from Samaya’s unicorn lamp or from the silvery glow above—light was his lifeline.

He stepped into a trembling beam of moonlight and felt himself lift—
slowly at first, then faster—until he was shooting like a rocket through the cool night air.

Below him, the world shrank: the tiny bedroom, the tiny house, the tiny village.
And then—he landed with a soft whump on the smooth, glassy surface of Moon.

Everywhere he looked shimmered. The stars winked around him, bright and countless.
And far below, tucked between the rolling shadows of mountains, was a small, glowing dot. Samaya’s tent.

“There she is!” Shadow Puppet cried joyfully.

But before he could take another step, Moon began to rumble beneath him.
Her surface quivered and shook, and Shadow Puppet lost his balance.
He tumbled, slid, and skidded toward the edge—arms flailing wildly.

Just in time, he caught hold of a ledge and dangled there, breathless.
Then he realized—the ledge was Moon’s smiling mouth.

Part Three: Moon’s Laughter

“Sorry,” Moon said, her voice like a sigh of wind through the trees. “You tickled me!”

Shadow Puppet blinked in surprise. Then he laughed—deep and warm, like the soft hush of shadows at dusk.
He hoisted himself up to sit on her lip.

Once his laughter had faded, he spoke politely:
“Moon, may I ride one of your moonbeams down to Samaya’s campsite? I’d like to visit her, if that’s okay.”

Moon’s eyes twinkled.
“Of course,” she whispered.

A silky thread of light began to stream down from her cheek, stretching all the way to the sleeping world below.
Shadow Puppet grasped the beam. It felt softer than silk and lighter than a spider’s web.

He waved goodbye.
Then—whoosh!—he slid down, faster and faster, through the sparkling night.
The stars raced past. The wind rippled through his shadowy form.
And before he knew it, he slipped off the end of the moonbeam and landed gently—right inside Samaya’s tent.

Part Four: Reunion

The tent was quiet, save for the whisper of crickets outside.
Shadow Puppet looked around eagerly—but Samaya was nowhere in sight.

Then came a rustle.
From the lump of her sleeping bag emerged two fluffy brown pigtails.
Samaya had the blanket pulled tight over her face, her small body trembling.

Shadow Puppet tiptoed closer. He gave the sleeping bag a tiny shake.

Samaya peeked out—eyes wide, heart pounding. But when she saw the familiar shape of her dearest friend, her fear melted away.
“Shadow Puppet!” she gasped, bursting into a smile. “I missed you so much! How did you get here?”

Shadow Puppet only shrugged—and did a little jig.

Samaya giggled.
“You want to play?” she asked.

She turned toward the moonlight that streamed faintly through the tent’s flap and raised her hands.
Together, they made the greatest shadow show they had ever performed—right there on the canvas walls of the tent, under the watchful glow of Moon high above.

And when Samaya finally drifted to sleep, her dreams were filled with silver beams, twinkling stars, and the laughter of her faithful friend—
her brave, loyal Shadow Puppet.