⏱ ~4 min reading
Solomiyka woke up in the middle of the night because she really wanted to drink. Her throat felt like she had eaten a bag of crackers. The clock on the clock was ticking softly: knock-knock, knock-knock.
The girl swung her feet out of bed. The floor was cool, her slippers had disappeared somewhere, and Solomiyka hobbled around barefoot. The door to the kitchen was at the end of a long corridor, where her mother always left a small moon-shaped light on at night.
The corridor smelled of wood and a little bit of lavender from the closet. There were pictures on the walls: grandma with a basket of mushrooms, little dad on a bicycle, Solomiyka with a cake for her third birthday.
She took two steps. Then two more. And suddenly she noticed: on the wall, next to her own shadow, another one was moving. Small. Four-legged. With a long tail that swayed from side to side.
The straw froze. The shadow froze too.
“Who is there?” the girl whispered.
Shadows don't answer. At least that's what Grandma said. But this shadow... she shook her head softly, as if listening.
Solomiyka took another step. The shadow also took a step. She stopped - and the shadow stopped. Her heart beat in her chest like a little drum.
"Just relax," Solomiyka told herself. "It's probably from the lamp. Or the curtain. Or I'm just dreaming because I want to sleep.".
But the shadow didn't disappear. It waited patiently nearby, as if asking, "Where are we going?"«
The girl took a deep breath. Grandma always said: when you're scared, you need to take a good look at what scares you. Because fear is afraid of light and attentive eyes.
The straw girl raised her hand. The shadow on the wall also raised a paw - soft, with rounded pads. The straw girl shook her head - the shadow twitched its ears. Then the girl carefully turned to face the wall.
And she smiled.
The shadow of a small, fluffy cat sat on the wall. Its ears stuck out like triangles. Its tail curved like a question mark. The shadow's eyes were not visible, but it felt as if the cat was looking at it gently.
"Hello," Solomiyka said quietly. "Where are you from?"
The shadow cat purred softly. That is, Solomiyka didn't hear the sound, but she felt it — a warm purring just somewhere in her chest, like when her mother hugs her.
"I am Tinemour," the girl heard a thin voice. "I live in your hallway. During the day I cannot be seen because the light is strong and blurs me. And at night, when the moon light is on, I come out. I guard everyone who goes to the kitchen to drink.".
Solomiyka laughed - quietly, so as not to wake her mother.
"So you're not scary?"
"I'm not scary at all," replied Tinemure. "I just thought you knew about me. I heard you walking with your dad at night before and laughing when he made bunnies with a flashlight. I play then too - I run alongside. Only you didn't look at the wall before.".
The girl stretched out her hand to the wall. The Shadowmour carefully "touched" her with his paw - she felt something like cool silk.
“Shall we go to the kitchen together?” Solomiyka suggested.
"Let's go," said Shadowmoor happily.
They walked down the corridor. The girl walked, and the shadow of the cat walked beside her, gracefully arching its back. In the kitchen, Solomiyka poured herself a glass of milk from the refrigerator—her mother said milk was better than water when you can't sleep. Shadowmour sat on the wall next to the window and watched her drink.
“Will I see you during the day?” she asked.
"Look at the wall when the morning sun shines through the curtain. Sometimes I'm there, like a gentle wave. I wave my paw at you.".
When Solomiyka returned to bed, she was no longer afraid. Tinemour led her to the very door of the room and politely wished her "good night", purring gently.
And in the morning, when Solomiyka woke up, the first thing she did was look at the wall by the window. There, among the strips of morning light, a ponytail was swaying softly. The girl smiled and waved her hand.
Tails waved in response.
From that day on, Solomiyka stopped being afraid to go to the kitchen at night. On the contrary, she even liked to get up, carefully step with her bare feet on the warm wood and watch her new friend float on the wall next to her. They played shadow games: the girl made a butterfly with her fingers - Tinemor caught it with his paw. Solomiyka jumped on one leg - Tinemor repeated. And when she giggled, the shadow on the wall also trembled with laughter.
Once, when little cousin Zoryana came to visit and was also scared of the night corridor, Solomiyka took her hand and said very confidently:
"Don't be afraid. The Shadowmour lives here. He's kind. You just have to look carefully at the wall.".
And the two girls walked together into the dark corridor—and two small shadows on the wallpaper, and one cat-like, graceful, with a curved back, quietly stepped alongside them.
✨ What we fear sometimes turns out to be our friend ✨