2 The guard
Day 15
That day, I was walking home. My car was being serviced in the garage. I was in the mood for a stroll, and on the way back, something unexpected occurred to me.
Because the sun was high in the sky, I noticed that my shadow was unusually enormous, much larger than normal. I came to a halt to examine it more closely; its shape didn't match mine, as if it wasn't my shadow but someone else's that was ahead of me on the pavement. I examined it closely and concluded that it was the shadow of someone else. I examined it closely, and once again, I recognized a childhood memory that did not belong to me.
A man was pulling me to the bottom of an unknown garden, where he removed his belt and beat me severely.
'We appreciate your efforts, VIP member.'
I shook the phone angrily, and it changed the wallpaper while laughing in my face.
"Your account has been credited with 100 points as a welcome gift."
The wallpaper changed once more, this time into stars shaped like gold coins.
I pondered the correction I had just witnessed. My father would never have lifted his hand against me, even if I had been upset. I assumed I could figure out which memory this was triggered by. What came to mind was totally improbable, if not completely impossible.
I quickened my pace, intending to arrive at my destination as soon as possible.
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Day 21
The weekend had flown by, and I ran into Alain on my way to school on Monday morning. He had that look on his face that said he had a bad weekend.
Since last Friday, my phone had been silent. At the very least, it remained loyal to me, displaying messages from my friends and relaying phone calls from my mother.
I found myself behind Hanna, who was dressed in a small navy blue sweater and a plaid skater skirt, squawking like birds of prey, racing to get in and not miss the roll call that was about to begin.
While the teacher was telling us about the circumstances surrounding Tutankhamen's death, as if she had been present at the time of his death, I was thinking about the break with trepidation.
At 10:30 a.m., the bell was about to sound, and I was looking forward to seeing Alain again.
It was a lovely morning! On the pavement, our two shadows were adjacent to each other. Alain's shadow was one meter shorter than mine; it's a simple issue of proportions.
I moved quietly, allowing my shadow to take control. Alain had no idea what was going on, and I was having a good time with my little game. When Alain noticed Hanna going by a few meters away, he stood up and walked away.
'Greetings, VIP1! Your account will be credited with 1000 points.'
I was taken aback. It came out of nowhere, and I was deep in meditation. Is it really 1100 points? I had no idea what that meant.
"Life is bad," the guard murmured as he sat down on the bench next to me. "My father was a knucklehead. I wish he hadn't stayed at home. I departed ahead of him, not because of him."
I discovered the man I had chatted to last week was our school's guard when I saw him talking to the principal in the morning. I assumed he was telling me his life narrative to get closer to me, most likely as a result of Saturday's events.
I slowly said, stretching my legs, "My father never put a hand on me."
The guard said, "Neither did mine."
"You're lying. I know your father hit you; he carried you to the rear of the garden and beat you with his belt," I said, my eyes closed and my head raised to the light.
But what had possessed me to say that? I didn't know how these words came out of my mouth. Why admit to the guard what I had seen last Saturday? I felt his gaze on my left cheek.
"Who told you that?"
"No one," I answered confused.
"You're either a snoop or a liar."
"I am not a snoop!"
I got up and walked away.
I walked facing the sun and suddenly turned around; the shadow that followed me was again my size, the one in front of the guard, much bigger.
My social life was in shambles because of shadows. I couldn't go outside when the sun was blazing any longer.
When the weather was nice, I demanded that we play basketball indoors instead than outside! I had to come up with an excuse like 'Hey, guys!' The guys stared at me as if I was insane. 'My skin is too delicate for such strong sunlight.' Just fact I was the captain and the best didn't stop them from glancing at me and unwillingly accepting.
It didn't matter to me that the guard was thirty years my senior. I had a feeling he was trustworthy after I had magically snatched his shadow.
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Day 33
It had poured the entire month of October. The birds were rare on the bare branches of the chestnut trees, which had lost their leaves. Their singing faded quickly; winter was approaching.
I looked for a beam of sunshine every morning, but it took until mid-November for it to eventually break through the cloud cover.
Our teacher planned an outside day trip as soon as the sky turned blue.
We were dropped off at the edge of the forest that surrounds the city nearest to Paris by a bus leased for the occasion. We were all in the T1 class, facing the humus and the slick ground, surrounded by a variety of plants, leaves, mushrooms, tall grasses, and mosses of all hues.
In spite of the fact that I was leading the stroll, the girls in the class were competing for my attention.
He didn't take his gaze away from Hanna for a single second, Alain. I made the decision to leave and explore the forest on my own.
When Alain's head appeared between two tall ferns, I came to a halt in front of a mushroom.
"The departure was announced by the teacher."
I straightened up and gave him a gentle touch on the arm.
"So, do you want to go or do you want to stay here the night?"
I let him take a few strides forward without saying anything else.
I realized something wasn't right when he went away. The shadow I was trailing behind me had to be at least a meter shorter than typical, but Alain's was far larger, so large that I decided it had to be mine.
'Dear VIP1, 100 points have been credited to your account.'
Alain's gaze was drawn to the inside pocket of my pants.
Alain's eyes grew even wider, the pupils visible through the lenses of his glasses as he inquired, "Do you have a new phone?"
"No, no, no." I said, ashamed, "It's only a game."
I laughed as I imagined what Alain would say if he discovered that I had taken advantage of the opportunity to steal his shadow. Even if it didn't make sense, I could do it!
But, for the second time, that's exactly what had happened. Alain's shadow had been superimposed on mine, and it had remained connected to the tips of my feet even after he had walked away. I was thrilled!
'Dear VIP1, you have progressed to the next level. You are now at level 2.'
We crossed the clearing to the road where the teacher and other high school students awaited us. We were being waved at by the teacher, who was requesting that we speed up. The bus was already waiting for us.
Hanna was already seated in the bus, just where she had been on the way there. She didn't even peek out the window, so my leaving didn't seem to bother her. The light was moving closer to the horizon, and our shadows were gradually shrinking away, becoming scarcely visible.
Back at home, I took a shower and considered telling my mother about my shadow problem, but I knew she wouldn't listen, so I kept quiet, hoping that the weather would be terrible the next day, and the shadows would be obscured by the grey sky.
