1. The Lovely Shadow
I am a southern guy, I consider myself to be rugged, manly and tough. Much to my dismay
mama refers to me as having a gentle soul. She’s never said it to me personally, but I overheard
her once talking to one of my aunts in the city. I know that there is a lot of talk about me around
town. People ask mama why I have yet to marry, am I currently courting and things like that. I
know there is pressure on mama and she sometimes feels left out when she sees her friends’
children moving on with life and starting families of their own. Me? Well, I am not against
marriage or anything; I’ve just never met anyone that I really liked. I’m 17 and I’ve never had a
real girlfriend. It’s not my fault; there aren’t too many girls in town my age, well pretty ones at
least. It seems like the girls that I go to school with are ALL thinking about getting married,
having babies and then that’s it. I’ve tried to tell mama that I want more than that. When I
graduate, I want to see the world. I want to visit other places and learn new things, meet new
people. I want adventure just like the people in the books I read. Nothing good ever came to any
of them by living in the same rural town their whole lives. Sometimes I lie in my bed and have
these thoughts at night. I stare at the ceiling and think and think. I knew that tonight was going
to prove to be different when mama came and knocked on the door.

2. “Avery, honey,are you awake?” Mama said softly through the small crack in the door. She was
wearing her night coat and was holding a box of something. It was a dusty old box that was
covered with a small thin blanket.
“Yes, ma’am, I’m up.” I jumped from the bed to help her with the box.
“I need you to run this over to the MacArthur’s’ place please, its urgent.”
“Oh, and Avery, be sure to go to the back door, I told them you were coming, so just go on in.
Ms. MacArthur doesn’t want you to knock”
I could see in mama’s eyes that something was going on and that look she gave me let me know
not to ask any questions so I didn’t. Instead, I got dressed and headed over to the MacArthur’s.
Mama really liked the MacArthur’s; they were good people, quiet and decent. Mrs. MacArthur
was a short and stocky woman with rosy cheeks and gentle eyes. Mr. MacArthur was a strong
willed and firm man from the North. He always gave me easier ways to get things done around
the house like chopping wood and stuff. He was wise and since papa was gone I soaked in all I
could from Mr. MacArthur. They had twin boys, a lot younger than me, Peter and James, but I
call them PB and J. They love to run around chasing bugs and throwing rocks.
As I approached the back porch I could see the lights were dim and the house was quiet. It was
eerie. You would think that with two energetic eleven year olds it would be a mad house. I
gently pushed the door open and made my way in with the package from mama. Mrs.
MacArthur met me at the door and I followed her to the kitchen. She seemed tense and hurried.
She took the box from me and placed an envelope in my hand. That’s when I saw her, well that’s
when I saw her shadow anyway. She was tall, slender and lean; she moved quickly through the
hall from room to room and I stood there staring at the spot where her silhouette had just been.
Mrs. MacArthur was busy putting away the items that mama had sent. I said good-bye and
begin to make my way back home.
I kept looking back at the MacArthur’s house, hoping that she would look out of the window and
somehow see me and when the house was far in the distance, I looked back once more and saw
her shadow again in the window. It must have taken me a little longer to get home, when I got
there, mama was waiting on the porch. The slight look of worry on her face quickly snapped me
out of the daze I had been in, thinking about the mysteriously beautiful shadow on the
MacArthur’s wall. I handed the envelope to mama, kissed her cheek and made my way to bed. I
welcomed the thoughts of her that came back. I wondered who she was, how long she had been
here and when was she returning. As I lay there in my thoughts, the room quickly became filled
with both our shadows dancing around the room.
For three nights I lie awake thinking of her. Each day I hoped mama needed to send me over to
the MacArthur’s for something. But she didn’t. Finally, I decided that I wasn’t going to wait on
that. I was going to go on my own. I needed to see her face.

3. Now, I’m not the bravest man around when it comes to girls, in fact I don’t really say much at all
to them. When I am at the market with mama, some of the girls will try and start a conversation
with me while I am waiting but it’s all really surface. It’s never really about me. They just talk,
talk, and talk all about themselves. They compliment me and giggle until it’s time to help mama
get her things. Mama says it’s called flirting and that even though I should be the one initiating
it, I should be cordial and smile anyway.
I didn’t have much of a plan for when I got to the MacArthur’s. I knew they would be expecting
me to be bringing something from Mama, so I grabbed a jar of peach preserves that she made
and headed to the MacArthur’s. The closer and closer I got, the more my heart beat faster. The
more my mind tried to talk me into turning around and heading home, the more my heart
pushed me to go on further. Trying to rehearse what would happen once I arrived, I became
distracted and fell into some type of deep, manmade pit in the ground.
I tried and tried to get myself out but I couldn’t get traction and slid down each time. Tired, dirty
and exhausted I sat down at the bottom. It was going to be getting dark soon and I couldn’t
think straight over the growls of my hungry belly. I remembered the jar of peach preserves I had
in my sack and ate the entire thing like a starving animal. Mama would have a fit if she saw the
way I was eating I thought as I closed the jar and put it back in my sack. Then I began to hear a
crackling sound above me. I stood really still, and prepared to protect myself in case it was a
snake or a wolf.
One thing I learned from papa before he left was how to protect myself against animals. He
once told me a story of how he was once lost in the woods for days, he lived off of wild honey
and berries and had stumbled across a pack of wild dogs. I looked forward to the times that I
would be able to share my adventures with my own children. He taught me everything he knew
about surviving. I may not be the best looking or the smartest man, but those skills give me an
advantage over every other man in town.
As the sound got closer I could sense that it was softer and lighter. Probably a rabbit or
something or I thought. It became silent, I looked up from the deep hole and there staring down
at me was the most beautiful human being that I had ever laid my eyes on.
Her skin was flawless and sun kissed. Her hair was long and flowing and the wind carried each
strand together behind the perfect backdrop of the setting sun. I knew that it was her. The girl
whose name I did not know but whose shadow I had dreamed of and remembered so vividly. I
was taken back by her beauty.
I stared at her for what must have seemed like an eternity and then she finally said to me, “You
really could use a napkin Mister.” She laughed as she walked away from the hole. I snapped out
of my daydream and realized that I was covered in dirt, bugs and peach preserves. My hair was a
mess and I had ripped my pants during my failed attempt at trying to get out of the hole. Certain
that she had left, I sat back down in defeat. Soon, she came back with a large tree branch that I
used to climb out. Her name was Nora.

4. Mr. MacArthur and her mother were brother and sister. She was from up north visiting but
didn’t say much else. I liked that about her. There was really something special about Nora. All
summer we became closer and closer having many other adventures and becoming the best of
friends. She thinks that the very first time that we met was that day in the hole. But I know that
it was that evening that I saw her lovely shadow in the MacArthur’s kitchen.
Story by: Bella Spinelli
From: USA
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