7 The message
Day 166
There hadn't been a single day of sunshine since the tank explosion. Although the school's windows had been restored, it was still cold in the classrooms, so we all kept our jackets inside. Because of the pompom that wiggled every time the teacher opened her mouth, the English lectures were much more exciting.
The mood was just as frosty between Alain and me. Since this kind of duty fell to the class representative, I felt arrows whistling behind my back every time a teacher sent me to the secretary's office to acquire some documents. I didn't hold anything against him since I had visited his residence in my dreams.
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Day 169
I stopped counting credits and my VIP level because it made no sense to me. My first wish had come true: I had conquered the shadows.
A girl's voice adds, "Yes ma'am, but if I tell you that it is real! It's him! Look over there!”
"The Mrs. Azzaro's son?"
"It's him!"
"Monsieur Azzaro!”
I hesitantly said, "Yes, ma'am."
The school principal waved me over and said, "Come into my office, young man."
As I approached, I dragged my feet, and she turned and proceeded towards the school's entrance, then went up to the second floor and opened the door to her office. She motioned for me to enter; I followed her in and patiently waited for her to signal me to take a seat in the front chair.
"Mr. Azzaro, tell me... you're all right?"
"What makes you inquire?" I replied, unsure why she had asked that question.
"I'll be honest with you, young man. What's the big deal about shadows?"
"How?" My eyes widened.
"It appears that you are the one who is clueless."
"I'm not sure what you're referring to."
"It appears that you converse with the shadows."
"Me? Did someone tell you that?"
"They also say you've been stealing shadows,"
"Me? Taking use of the shadows?"
"Yes. You. You. Have... taken... the... shadows."
"Ah! You can see how perplexed I am. And how would I go about doing that?"
"That's why you're here. I'd like for you to tell me..."
"What do you want me to say? Is it true that I'm a shadow thief?"
"Young man..."
"Ha Ha HA!"
"Stuart AZZARO!"
"I am a shadow thief, madam! I snatched the shadows of every student at this institution, as well as half of Paris."
"Young man!"
"Go ahead and do it! If you wish, you can send me to the psychologist," and I sprang up from my chair. "I'm running late for a math class. I'll inform you of my psychologist's appointment schedule, which my mother will carefully select. Bye, Madam!"
The principal yelled, "Mr. AZZARO!" but I was already at the bottom of the stairs.
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Day 170
Because I told the truth, I was stuck with the psychological appointments. On Saturday afternoons, instead of playing basketball, I sat in the doctor's office and told you about my life for an hour in front of a lovely woman who smiled and said, "Mmm, mmm..."
All because a shadow, seeking vengeance, created a tanker explosion that killed our high school guard one day during math class.
I wasn't sure if these sessions had any effect on me, but all I could think about was how the guard's death was my fault, and I would have done anything to prevent it.
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Day 243
The days passed, and summer, and with it, the end of the school year, approached. I had failed to realize my ambition of controlling all the shadows, which I had handed to the school's guard at the start of the year. I had forgotten about others, their lives, and had stolen their shadows in my egoism.
I hadn't gone up in my house's attic in months. I hadn't seen my shadow since that day, when my shadow hugged my mother's shadow.
When I thought about the attic, I had an odd feeling. It seemed as if the world I had left behind was reconstructing itself around me.
The first rays of moonlight brushed the attic's floor. Back to reality, I straightened up and smacked my head on a beam, but in front of me, a shadow appeared, growing longer and thinner than a pencil line. It crawled onto box and appeared to be sitting on it. She gave me a belligerent expression, as if she expected me to speak first. I hung in there.
'So you've finally returned,' she murmured. 'I'm happy you've arrived; we were expecting you.'
"You were expecting me?"
'It was unavoidable; we expected you to return sooner or later.'
"I didn't know I was going to come up tonight until this morning."
'Do you believe it's a coincidence that you're here? We required your assistance.'
"Who are you?"
'I'm the class representative,' says the shadow. 'Even though the class has dispersed, some of us are still keeping an eye on you; shadows don't age as quickly as light.'
"Can you tell me what you want from me?"
'Do you recall the days on the beach when she would join you, the hours you spent together? Wasn't she supposed to be your best friend?' What happened to this friendship?'
"What's the point of telling me this?"
'You have a very uncommon ability; you must consent to utilize it, even if it makes you uncomfortable.'
"What about it?"
I just shrugged.
'All we ask is that you find a small light that will highlight their life, a fragment of their hidden memory, for each of those whose shadow you are stealing.'
"We?"
'We, the shadows,' exclaimed the person with whom I was conversing.
To the right of the skylight, the moon was declining. I noticed the shadow glide from the trunk to the floor invisibly, its characteristics growing more refined.
"Wait a minute, don't leave. How should I do?"
'I'm sorry for having to flee from you, but the clock is ticking, and I don't have any other option. Goodbye.'
The moon had vanished from the skylight, and the shadow between two cardboard boxes had faded away.
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Day 244
The rusted sign was still dangling from its chain. The C's and I's were all that remained of Forbidden Access. I stepped over it, pulled open the iron door, which had long since lost its salt-caked lock, and ascended the stairwell to the roof balcony. The stairwell seems to have decreased; I had assumed they were taller. The windows were intact but black with filth as I climbed the ladder to the cupola. I brushed them away with my fists and glanced at the two circles I'd drawn, two binoculars pointing to my winter vacations spent here.
My foot came to a halt on something. I spotted a wooden box on the ground, covered in dust. I knelt and flung it open.
There was a kite inside. The eagle's frame was in good shape, but the canopy was in bad shape. I took the bird in my arms and stroked its delicate wings with a thousand precautions.
The distance is forty meters. The reel had been wound with extreme precision. I returned to the shore, spread my eagle on the sand, and put the wooden sticks together. I double-checked the knot holding it all together, then unrolled five meters of rope and ran against the wind.
Since she couldn't hear me, what had happened to my trusty friend, the girl to whom I had freely confided all my secrets?
I closed my eyes.
