Act I: Feeling
About this story
A story about the wish you haven’t said out loud. In the slow part of the afternoon, your child’s shadow starts moving on its own: reaching for the window, growing tall, leaning toward the door the way you do when you’re waiting for someone to come home. Every move is a wish they’ve been carrying without words. They learn that it’s okay to want things you can’t say yet, and that the words can come when they’re ready.
Story Excerpt
"It’s okay to want things you can’t say yet. Some wishes are shy. They need time. They aren’t ready to come out, and that’s fine."
-
This story is called "Shadow Wish."
You were in your room in that quiet part of the afternoon. School was done. Dinner wasn't ready yet. The sun was still up but getting lazy, coming through your window sideways, golden and slow.
You weren't doing anything special. Just standing there. Maybe a little bored. Maybe a little tired. The kind of afternoon where you don't know what to do with yourself.
And that's when you saw your shadow.
It stretched long across the floor, all the way to the wall. You've seen your shadow a thousand times. It follows you everywhere and copies everything you do. Lift your arm, it lifts its arm. Turn your head, it turns its head.
But this time was different.
You were standing still. Not moving at all. And your shadow moved.
Just a little. A wiggle, like it was stretching after a long nap. Like it had an idea of its own.
You stood very still and watched.
Your shadow lifted one arm, slowly, and stretched it toward the window. Not the way you grab a cup off the table. The way you point at a bird that's already flying away.
You looked at your own arm. It hadn't moved. But your shadow was still stretching.
And you felt a little tug in your chest. A quiet feeling you didn't have words for. The kind you don't usually say out loud.
The shadow's arm came down. And then it grew taller.
Up, up, up toward the ceiling, like it wanted to see what was up there. Like it wanted to be big.
You felt that tug again. Have you ever had that feeling? The wanting-to-be-bigger feeling. The wondering-what-comes-next feeling. The wish you keep tucked away because you're not sure how to say it.
The shadow shrank back to your size. Then it leaned toward the door of your room.
It wasn't trying to leave. It was listening. The way you lean toward the front door when you're waiting for someone to come home.
You felt the tug again, a different one this time. The wishing-they-were-here feeling. The missing-someone feeling.
The shadow stood up straight. And then it opened its arms wide. Wide open, like a hug waiting to happen. Like it was making room for someone.
You took a slow breath.
Maybe there's someone you miss. Maybe there's a wish you haven't told anyone yet. You're just waiting for the right moment. Your shadow can tell.
After all, your shadow has been with you on every ordinary afternoon like this one. It's been there when no one else was watching. It felt what you felt, even when you didn't say a word.
The light moved. The sun sank lower. Your shadow grew longer, stretching across the floor and up the wall.
And all of a sudden, you got it.
It's okay to want things you can't say yet.
Some wishes are shy. They need time. They aren't ready to come out, and that's fine. They can stay quiet for a while, in the stretch of a shadow, in the tug behind your ribs, in the way your eyes drift to the window and you don't know why.
You don't have to say them. Not until you're ready. Your shadow can carry them for you, nice and gentle, without asking a single question.
Downstairs, a door closed. A voice called out, too far away to hear the words. Pots and pans. Dinner was starting.
The afternoon was ending.
But before you turned to go, your shadow did one more thing. It lifted its hand and laid it on its chest. Right where your heart would be.
Like it was saying: I've got it. Your wish is safe with me.
Then you went downstairs, into the noise and the lights and the regular evening. Your shadow followed behind you, plain and ordinary again.
But you knew now. The wanting is okay. The wishing is okay. Even the feelings that don't have words yet are okay.
They're part of you. When you're ready, they'll come out. And until then, they'll wait for you in the quiet, right there in your shadow.
That's where our story rests for now. You can think about it if you want to. Or not. You can come back to it later, or let it go. There will be another story waiting, whenever you're ready. Until then... keep wondering.
Find us everywhere
Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Amazon Music
Keep wondering
Wonder together
After the story ends, keep the conversation going.
Are you carrying a wish around? You don’t have to tell me what it is?
What would your shadow do when you’re happy? What about when you miss someone?
Where do you feel a wish in your body?
—
Coloring sheet
Download the show’s coloring page
—
Related reading
