The Shadow of Gardner Place

A shadow never stays the same. It shortens, it lengthens, it shifts direction depending on where the light falls from. At first it can be mistaken for the shape of whatever casts it; only with time does it reveal how much space it has come to occupy.

I wrote this story thinking of parents who love, protect, and trust their children, but who can sometimes mistake certain behaviors for security, leadership, or ambition. A shadow does not appear all at once in its full extent. It grows and changes shape according to the position of the light. In a similar way, some behaviors at first present themselves as small and even admirable gestures, until time reveals the effect they have on those around them.